Pink Petals
by Durian
Summary: [Summary- AU OOC]: Chap 12 Up- Sakura's step-mother is dying as she continues to cough out blood. Mrs Nara reached out a hand and whispered ever so softly, “Shikamaru.” Please R&R...
1. Ch 1: The Deal

Naruto characters belong to Kishimoto Masashi… 

**A/N: **I want you to know that it takes a long time for me to think of an idea and type it. Please do not flame me! This story is still developing so I'm open for ideas. 

**Summary: **Sakura is a farm girl adopted by the Nara family but one day she is taken away to become a maid! What will her life be then? Who will be her master? What is her real identity? 

~*~**Pink Petals**~*~

Chapter One

_"My dearest I will find you one day…"_

In the outskirts of Konoha City lived a family of four. Life as farmers may be hard but they had lived happily until the past two years. The merciless sky had not let any water drop to the ground. The once green paddies were replaced by dry cracked surfaces. The shallow river close by had dried and begun to grow reeds. 

Sakura fell on her knees and prayed that the sky may rain. A few minutes later Shikamaru came back with two buckets of water. He had walked one hour to a far away well and back just to bring home enough drinking water. He looked at his sister and sighed.

"Sakura stop praying and help me carry the water inside," ordered Shika.

"Yes brother," replied Sakura.

"You should help mother with embroidery and quilt making than wasting your time praying," lectured Shika and added, "Between, make some tea before father comes back. I'm going to get some more water."

"Brother you can go after tea," said Sakura.

"That can wait, I'm sure you want a proper bath by tonight," shouted Shika as he ran off with the buckets. 

Sakura blushed because she had not bathed in a month. Normally she would clean herself with a wet towel so she was glad of her brother's thoughtfulness. Before the drought Shika and Sakura used to go swimming in the river. That was until Sakura noticed her figure started to develop.  

Now at the age of 17 she was a grown woman with a mature feminie figure. She hummed happily to herself while making tea and rice cakes. Meanwhile her mother was busily stitching designs on some cloth. Mrs Nara took a glance at her beautiful daughter. She was like a princess with straight silky pink hair. Her eyes were a warm emerald colour.

None of Sakura's qualities were inherited from the Nara's because she was merely adopted by them. When she was just an infant Mrs Nara had picked her up by the river next to a cherry blossom tree. From that day onwards they called her Sakura and they lived happily together. 

After a while Mr Nara came back with two buckets of water. Sakura came out of the house to greet her father and announce that tea was ready. Mr Nara patted her daughter's head before entering the house, "You're such a good daughter. I never want to lose you."

Sakura saved some rice cakes for her brother before placing some on a plate for her father. Mrs Nara decided to join them and the three of them ate peacefully. Suddenly they heard loud footsteps and a group of people shouting. Mr Nara ordered his wife and daughter to stay inside the house while he went out to check the intruders. 

Indeed there was a group of men waiting outside. The clothing they wore suggested they were of a higher class. Mr Nara felt relief as they weren't robbers but then he dreaded to know why these people were here. 

"What do you want?" asked Mr Nara.

"What do we want? We're here to collect the two years worth of land rent you owe us," said Kiba their leader.  

"But… The land has been dead for two years!" shouted Mr Nara.

"I don't care! If you and the other farmers don't pay up we will take you to court. Unless…" trailed Kiba.

"Unless what?" asked Mr Nara.

"You have a young pretty daughter to be our Master's maid. Recently our master had made many old maids retire so we're short of maids." Offered Kiba sincerely.

"That's ridiculous! I won't let any of you take my little Sakura," shouted Mr Nara. 

The doors opened abruptly and out came Sakura. Kiba took a long glance at the pretty girl and nodded, "She's just right for the job!"

"I shall become your Master's maid if you promise not to take my family to court," declared Sakura, "I'm sorry father."

"Sakura I won't let you," said Mr Nara.

"Oh please don't be sappy! Many of the farm girl's are being taken so she won't be alone. I don't have all day!" hassled Kiba and added, "Oh I forgot, by becoming a maid she also gets paid so the extra money she makes could help out your family."

Mr Nara listened to Kiba's last words intently and thought, 'Perhaps it's time to let Sakura go…' He nodded solemnly as the men guided Sakura away. Mrs Nara came out the house with tears in her eyes as she ran to her daughter. She gave Sakura a hug before waving her hand to farewell her daughter. 

As Sakura got on their horse carriage she was amazed to find her best friend Ten ten. "Tennie, you're here!" cried Sakura before giving her a hug. Sakura took a few more glances and recognised most of the farm girls. She was glad that she wasn't alone and suddenly she became excited. She had only been to the city a few times and now she would be living there! She also wondered what her Master would look like.

"Sakura?" wondered Ten. 

"What?" asked Sakura.

"I actually think being a maid is a good idea and we can earn some money!" said Ten.

"Me too!" replied Sakura as she took her hand and shook it. 

A short while after Sakura was gone Shika came back with two buckets of water. He wondered why his father was standing dumbly looking off to the distance. He was also surprised that his mother was crying. Suddenly Mr Nara said softly, "Sakura's gone…" Shika dropped the buckets upon hearing the words. The water tipped and seeped into the dry ground. The water was meaningless to him as his precious sister was gone. 

Please review ^-^


	2. Ch 2: The Master

Naruto characters belong to Kishimoto Masashi… 

**A/N: **Yes, this fic is an AUand may contain some ooc. 

**Summary: **Sakura is a farm girl adopted by the Nara family but one day she is taken away to become a maid! What will her life be then? Who will be her master? What is her real identity? 

**Alert: **Let me clear up on one thing. This story is set when the last emperor still stands. However, the hierarchy system is slowing changing to a government one. Many civil wars may break out further into the story? ^-^

~*~**Pink Petals**~*~

Chapter Two

[I will find you my innocent daughter…] 

"You three don't just stand there! Move around," shouted Naruto as he began to chuck the tomatoes at his male servants. "Ha! In your face!"

Even at the age of twenty Naruto Uzamaki was still an immature young man who liked to play and eat around all day. The energetic blond youth continued laughing and throwing his tomatoes while humiliating his servants at the same time. 

Suddenly an old distressed lady with a wooden cane popped out of nowhere. She walked straight towards Naruto pointing her crane at him before slipping on a tomato. Naruto ran quickly to his grandma's side and asked, "Are you ok?"

Grandma Uzamaki frowned angrily at Naruto and shouted, "When will you grow up? When I was your age, I got married and had children! You three go clean yourselves up."

"Grandma, I'm sorry. I was just having some fun…" trailed Naruto before his Grandma's crane hit him. 

"You call that fun? How would you like it if I threw tomatoes at you!" asked Grandma and added, "From now on you will work at the material warehouse!"

"But…" 

"No buts! I punish you to kneel at the Uzamaki shrine for one hour! IRUKA, watch over Naruto while I'm gone! " Yelled Grandma before leaving for her afternoon tea. 

Naruto walked slowly to the shrine and knelt for a few minutes before he got bored. A smile crept up his face as he opened the doors slowly. He peeped his head out slowly before Iruka shouted, "Master you…"

"Shut up Iruka, I promise to come back in an hour!" shouted Naruto.

Iruka pulled his arm and said sternly, "Master, you mustn't."

Naruto cried, "Iruka help me. Grandma's coming!"

Iruka turned his head to see if Grandma Uzamaki was coming while letting go of Naruto. Iruka realised it was a lie but the mischievous youth had disappeared. He hoped Naruto would keep to his words and come back in an hour. 

The blond youth was walking happily until his auntie Tsunade called him, "Naruto dear are you busy?"

"Ah not really…" trailed Naruto.

"Can you come with me to the shipping dock? My daughter's arriving soon," asked Tsunade.

"I-no is com-ing back?" stuttered Naruto as a vague memory of a girl in two pigtails flashed in his mind. "Ok, I'll come."

=*=

It had taken a few hours for the horse carriage to finally arrive outside the Uzamaki entrance. Normally it would take a whole day to walk from the city's outskirt to Konoha. Mr Nara normally walked to the city once every fortnight to exchange his wife's embroidery for money. Then he would use some of that money to buy food like flour and rice. 

When the six farm girls arrived at the entrance of Uzamaki residence they continued to gaze at the walls. Kiba ordered the servant to open the door and upon stepping inside the girls continued to stare at the beauty of the front gardens. 

"This place is so big," said Ten.

"It's very beautiful too!" exclaimed Sakura.

The girls exchanged many ooos and ahhs before a maid came out with some clothes. Kiba took the clothing from the girl and handed it to the girls. After another few minutes of following behind Kiba they finally arrived at a small building.

"This will be your new living quarter. Go in and change!" ordered Kiba.

The girls went inside and were surprised to find 16 beds. The quality of the blankets was better than the ones the girls were used to. They even had their own pillows rather than the material stuffed one they had at home. 

"Amazing, even the maids bed place is better than the one I have at home," cooed a random farm girl.

"Look everyone aren't these dresses more prettier than our tattered clothing?" asked another random farm girl.

"I think it's a uniform. It looks similar to the one the maid was wearing," said Sakura.

The girls changed into their uniforms and were amazed to find a mirror on the side. "Look everyone, there's a mirror on the wall," shouted Ten ten.

The girls gathered up to the mirror to check out their new look. "You look good Tennie," complimented Sakura.

"Nah, I think you look better," said Sakura before the girls heard a cough.

"You girl's don't have all day. I have to teach you some house rules and set out some chores for you guys!" shouted Kiba.

The girls scurried out the room and waited for Kiba's command. Kiba took a quick glance at the girls before resting his eyes on Sakura. He smiled and thought 'She is definitely better looking then all of them…' 

"Ok listen up! In this house we have a young Master and Grandma Uzamaki. Young Master's parents are dead and that is all you girls need to know. We also have a Lady (Tsunade) Yamanaka whom her husband is also sadly deceased. Little Miss Yamanaka will be arriving today and one of you girls may be appointed to serve her."

"Firstly, it is forbidden for servants to ask about the Uzamaki's history! Secondly, you must complete all your chores in the day. Thirdly, you are to listen to all commands from the Uzamaki's. Fourthly, you must wake up at 6 am every day and sleep whenever you are dismissed. Fifthly, there are to be no quarrels between you girls and the other maids. Sixthly, you will be addressed as servant or maid or any name the Uzamaki's give you. That's about it, any questions?" asked Kiba.

"Yes, how much do we get paid?" asked Ten ten.

"That's a blunt question. You get paid 1 silver nugget each month," replied Kiba.

"WA!" said a random farm girl.

"I want to know if we can be permitted to leave this estate and if we can have any visitors," wondered Sakura.

"Good question! You girls will be permitted to leave only when an Uzamaki member allow you to leave. Yes, we allow visitors to come visit you guys once a month. Also, you are allowed to write to your family so you see the Uzamaki's aren't that strict. Any more questions?" asked Kiba after waiting for a minute he continued, "If there's no more questions, I'll show you around the place once and then lay out your chores."

=*=

Later on the evening Shikamaru continued running to the Uzamaki residence. He hoped to get Sakura back though his parents had warned him not to. He had only been to the city a few times but he promised himself to bring Sakura home no matter what. 

In the dark he saw a light and as he got closer loud noises filled the air. He saw the glint of swords as a number of robbers decided to attack the horse carriage up front. Meanwhile Kakashi was trying to fight off the thieves though he was greatly out numbered. His two servants now rest on the floor injured and bleeding badly. Shikamaru grabbed a thick branch and decided to help the silver hair man. Shika's surprise attack knocked down two to three robbers. The other three to four robbers was soon taken care of by Kakashi. 

The carriage rattled as Anko came out after Kakashi called, "It's safe." When Anko laid eyes on the young bushy hair man she said, "Kakashi there's another robber there!"

"No dear, he helped me. You there what's your name?" asked Kakashi.

"Shikamaru Nara," answered Shika.

"He's bleeding. Here let me help you," offered Anko as she ripped some material and wrapped it around the hand wound. 

"Why are you wondering in the middle of the night?" asked Kakashi.

"I'm looking for an Uzamaki residence," said Shika.

"Oh I live there," smiled Kakashi before a rough hand cuffed his collar. 

"Where's my sister? Where did you guys take her?" demanded Shika.

"Calm down we only work for their material warehouse," explained Anko and added, "But we'll take you there…"

"Really?" said Shika happily.

"Yes, by the way I'm Kakashi Hatake and she is my wife Anko," said Kakashi while the three hopped in the carriage with the two wounded servants.

**Note:**

One gold nugget = 10 silver nugget

One silver nugget = 100 bronze pellets 

Small bag of rice (1kg) = 50 bronze pellet 

Please Review ^-^


	3. Ch3: The Vow

Naruto characters belong to Kishimoto Masashi… 

**A/N: **Oh ye please remember this is MY fictional story so I write whatever I like. No this fic is not set in Japan but somewhere in my imagination…

**Summary: **Sakura is a farm girl adopted by the Nara family but one day she is taken away to become a maid! What will her life be then? Who will be her master? What is her real identity? 

~*~**Pink Petals**~*~

Chapter Three

[Is my daughter alive?]

Naruto rode in the horse carriage with Tsunade for about an hour before they finally reached the dock. Promises to Iruka to be back within an hour had long disappeared. When the carriage halted, Naruto came out to greet a huge iron ship.

Naruto and Tsunade waited patiently for Ino to arrive and at last a long curly blond haired girl walked up to Tsunade. Ino was dressed in a pretty blue French dress and from the tight clothes you could tell she had perfect feminine features. The top of her dress was low cut to reveal the same enormous breasts Tsunade possessed. 

"Mother, I'm so glad to see you again," said Ino before giving Naruto a glance and commented, "Is he your servant?"

Naruto was astounded to hear those words but he corrected her, "Ah-hem! I'm your cousin Naruto."

"You're Naruto," laughed Ino before giving him a hug, "Hmm… you've grown taller! I remember being taller than you once."

"Yes I'm taller but you've become much prettier than the last time I saw you," said Naruto.

"When were we last together?" asked Ino and miraculously remembered, "Ah! I was twelve before Grandpa Yamanaka decided to take me to France. Speaking of which, you must be twenty this year! Are you married or have you got a girlfriend?"

"I…" trailed Naruto before a young blue haired man walked up to them. Kabuto kissed Ino's hand before taking a bow to Tsunade.

"Mother. Naruto. This is my friend Kabuto Yakushi, I met him on the ship," introduced Ino.

"I can tell who Ino inherited all her good looks from. Mrs Yamanaka, you are a very beautiful woman," complimented Kabuto with a keen eye on Tsunade's breasts.

"And you're a very handsome young man," replied Tsunade before she took a glance at her nephew. 

"Let's go home. I'm sure you're very tired," said Naruto to Ino.

After that, the four of them hopped on the carriage.

=*=

"Let's see, we already have two maids serving Grandma Uzamaki and two for Mr and Mrs Hatake," said Kiba.

"Who is Mr Hatake?" asked Ten.

"Oh he is the manager of the Uzamaki Material Warehouse. The Uzamaki's supply many places with material," explained Kiba before continuing, "We also have two maids serving Lady Yamanaka and four for random tasks. One of the four may be chosen to be Miss Yamanaka's maid because you girls are still new." 

"Who serves Master Uzamaki?" asked Sakura.

"Two male servants," replied Kiba.

The girl's exchanged many glances and wondered why would the Master have male servants, 'Is he gay…?' All of them decided not to ask because it may be offensive. However, it was as if Kiba had read their minds, "The master already likes someone and does not want to be distracted by maids… Anyways, basically all you need to do is to clean the toilet, wash the dishes, water the plants, sweep the floor, mop and dust around the house, wash, hang and dry clothing and help the cook."

"What do the other maids do?" wondered a random farm girl.

"Oh they can massage and perform the chores the person they serve order them to do," replied Kiba.

"Do you have a maid?" asked another girl.

"No, I'm just the butler (head male servant) but I do have my own room," said Kiba.

"How many male servants are there?" asked Ten ten.

"Five including me, two serving the Master as I said before. One helps Mr Hatake carry logs of materials and the Chef," replied Kiba.

"Omg… do we get to shower?" asked Sakura.

"Oh I forgot! Let me take you to the bathing place before I even consider letting you guys work! Everyone is to bath everyday in the Uzamaki residence." said Kiba.

"Really? You aint lying?" asked a girl while Kiba shook his head to assure the girl.

He directed the girls to a small building and gave them 15 minutes to clean themselves. He gave each girl a small orange block before explaining that it was soap and that it would make their bodies smell better. The girls laughed and played around in the big tiled bath even though the water was cold. When their time was up they put on their clothing quickly and walked out to Kiba.

The girls followed Kiba around for another few minutes until they bumped into a kind old lady. "Kiba… Who are these young girls?" asked Grandma Uzamaki softly.

"They're the new maids," reported Kiba.

"You girls can take another bath and remember to wash you hair properly. Your chores can start tomorrow, I will tell the other maids what you girls will need to do. Please don't mind me saying but you there with the pink hair is a very pretty young lady," said Grandma Uzamaki and then she told one of her maids to get the girls some combs and pins to tidy their hair.

Kiba dismissed the girls but told them to be back at the kitchen by evening to eat dinner with the other servants. The girls stayed in the big bath for a long time while happily chatting to each other. The girls shared similar lives so all of them were grateful to be able to bath again.  

=*=

[Sasuke's POV]

I lay on the grass and looked up to the full moon. A shiver ran down my spine as I felt the cool breeze brush past me. Why am I alone? I wish father and mother was here but no, I'm an orphan. I curse my brother for taking the family I was pledged to have. I curse my brother for taking my happiness and childhood that all kids get. 

I remember starving on the streets to death but still no one would look twice at me. I recalled how I tried to steal in desperation for my hunger but the storeowner gave me a beating. He did not pity me one bit. Not even for a starving child. I was grateful that _you_ held me when I fainted. _You _took me in and gave me food and shelter. I vow to be your slave in exchange for your kindness.

My master was none else but Orochimaru…

**Character Info: **(Optional to read)

Lead Roles-

Naruto Uzamaki: Parents deceased. He is somewhat good looking but is not very intelligent. He is quite rich and likes Ino but that will change. Naruto is twenty years old and will be looking after the family's material warehouse. He respects his Grandma and his best friend is Rock Lee (appears later on).

Sakura Nara: Adopted by the Nara's her real identity will be revealed next chapter. She is a very beautiful girl with a very kind heart (towards Sasuke in later chapters). She is smart and learns things quickly while also being musically talented. She is adored by all and looks very cute in dresses!

Shikamaru Nara: Hardworking and has an average IQ. He befriends the Hatake and later works at the material store. He becomes Naruto's friend and will be paired with Ino (somehow in later chapters). Shika will become better looking especially with his pony trimmed by Ino!

Ino Yamanaka: Father deceased. A very beautiful young lady who is introduced with Kabuto. After a certain incident her world starts to evolve around SASUKE. However, due to his coldness she finds true romance with Shika!

Sasuke Uchiha: Parents deceased. Brother missing. He is enslaved to Orochimaru in return for his kindness. Oro sets a mission for him (find out next chapter) so he sets on his journey to complete the task. He is a very emotionless guy and never smiles. In fact, the only person he talks to is Oro. Fresh light shines upon his world when he meets Sakura.

Minor Roles: Kakashi and Anko Hatake, Kabuto, Ten ten paired with Rock Lee, Tsunade, Grandma Uzamaki, Mr and Mrs Nara, Iruka (Naruto's servant) who will be attacked by Kurenai a rich women, Orochimaru and many others!

Please wait for next character update in the future ^-^

**Alert! **The A/N is there for a reason! ~Pink Petals~ is an **Alternate Universe** fic that may contain ooc! I have always written in the Naruto category but if YOU tell me to change this to an original fic does that mean I have to think of other character names? Do I have to think of new facial features for each of my new characters then? By the way readers, I apologise for Shikamaru's character: he does not have a high IQ and is hardworking in _My _fic…

Please review ^-^


	4. Ch 4: The Lost Princess

Naruto characters belong to Kishimoto Masashi… 

**A/N: **Ah, each chapter is roughly 1000 words because I don't have a lot of time to write. I hope you like this story because I'm carefully planning the plot. 

**Summary: **Sakura is a farm girl adopted by the Nara family but one day she is taken away to become a maid! What will her life be then? Who will be her master? What is her real identity? 

**Alert: **Chapter 3 has been changed for those who read the first update! Ino came from France and Kabuto is _not _her boyfriend! A character info list has also been included…

~*~**Pink Petals**~*~

Chapter Four

[I will reward thee who finds my daughter…]

During dinner, the other ten maids gave cold glances at the farm girls. They had no intention to be friendly and the four who served no one continued to grin throughout the night. Kiba noticed the cold atmosphere and ordered, "Stop glaring at the farm girls and eat dinner!"

In the Uzamaki dining table Naruto had been quiet since the trip back. He wasn't feeling very hungry so he dismissed himself to go back to his room. On the other hand Grandma Uzamaki was happy to see her grand daughter that she forgot to punish Naruto. Kabuto would be staying in the guests' room until he has located his relatives in Konoha. 

"My my. Ino you've grown older and you have a boyfriend now!" declared Grandma and added, "When do I hear wedding bells?"

"Grandma!" replied Ino, "Kabuto and I are just friends!"

Kabuto adjusted his glasses and smiled. 'Just friends… I'll make sure to change that,' he thought to himself. He had only met Ino for a day on the ship. She was so friendly that she told him everything about her. He was simply one of the crewmembers but he lied that he came from France too. When Ino told him she was related to the Uzamaki he began to plot his plan.

Over the years Kabuto had picked up enough French words to communicate at the basic level. He told Ino that he came to Konoha in search for his relatives. She offered him to stay at the Uzamaki until he found his relatives. Kabuto jumped at the idea and wondered what he could find in a rich place, such as the Uzamaki's…

After they finished dinner the maids were to clean up the table.  One of the four maids were appointed to serve Ino while the others retired to the person they served. Of the remainder of the three maids one said, "Listen farm girls! Your task from now on is to do everything that we say. Now we say that you go clean up the table and wash the dishes."

Another maid continued, "You two can wash, hang and fold the clothing. You two can sweep and water the plants. You two (referring to Ten ten and Sakura) can wash the toilets, mop and dust the house."

"What are you three going to do then?" asked Ten.

"To make sure you guys do your tasks properly," said one of the maids and added, "By the way you two (Ten and Sakura) have to clean the toilets now!"

"What?" asked Ten.

"Just do what they say Tennie, it's our first day here. I don't want to cause a fuss," said Sakura softly.

"Fine," said Ten and added, "What do we have to do?" 

"See that back door. You are to lift the buckets of secreted wastes (stuff that comes out of our body) and tip it to a larger bucket outside. There is also a special place with water to clean the buckets so that it doesn't smell out there. By the way, it smells behind the door…" laughed the maids cruelly.

=*=

A while after dinner Ino had come to Naruto's door. "Naruto… You don't seem that happy today. Is it because that I am back?" asked Ino softly.

"No," replied Naruto before opening the door and added, "I'm glad that you're back!"

"So Naruto do you have a girlfriend," asked Ino for the second time.

"Ah. Of course I do!" replied Naruto.

"Great! Do you think you could bring her along to a ball? My friends and their friends that came to Konoha are planning to make a dancing ball." Said Ino.

"But I don't have the right clothing and I don't know how to dance," replied Naruto.

"Ah! You can get a tailor to make you some French clothing and Kabuto and I could teach you to dance. The ball's in a fortnight by the way," said Ino.

"Ok then…" answered Naruto before Ino said good night and retired back to her room.

Naruto could not sleep because his mind continued to lecture him, 'Where the hell are you going to find a girl to the ball?' He walked out of his room and decided to stroll around his house to calm his mind. 

Ten ten was out the door while Sakura went back to collect her second bucket. There was five buckets all together, in which three was for the servants. Sakura was lifting her bucket before a hand tapped her shoulder. She was so frightened that she threw the contents in the bucket at her intruder.

"Sakura it's me," hushed a familiar voice.

"Shika," asked Sakura and was about to hug her brother but lucky Shika pushed her back.

"I got crap on me, do you know where I can clean myself?" asked Shika. 

Naruto was walking until he heard a man and a woman's voice. He listened to find the owners of the voices until he saw a man taking off his shirt (The characters in Pink Petal wear clothing similar to that of the Chinese). Next to the man was a pink haired maid. 

Sakura looked up at the blond intruder and for the first time in the night she saw Master Uzamaki. Naruto looked directly at the maid's beautiful jade eyes. The moonlight had illuminated the warm green and sent Naruto out of breath. He was so engaged by her beauty that he had forgotten to breathe.

"What are you two doing here?" asked Naruto breaking the silence.

=*=

[Sasuke's POV]

I took a glance at Master Orochimaru before kneeling to my knees. Orochimaru was a powerful man of great honour. He was the Empress's top eunuch and I could tell from his expression that he was thinking deeply.

"Master, what is it that stresses you?" I asked.

"The Empress wants me to help her find her lost daughter," replied Oro.

"Then I shall help you look for her," I responded.

"Her daughter may not even be alive!" exclaimed Oro.

"Did she tell you any other special features?" I asked.

"Yes, her majesty said that her daughter has a tattoo. The design is of the _pink petals_ on a cherry blossom…" trailed Oro.

"Then I shall find this girl with the tattoo!" I declared.

"But that would mean…" said Oro before continuing, "you'll have to take off the girl's clothing."

"Is there any other features that will limit the search?" I asked.

"Well the Empress has red hair and green eyes. The Emperor has white blond hair and blue eyes. That is all I know, she could be a mix of everything for all I know!" explained Orochimaru.

"I promise I will find her," I said before dismissing myself.

=*=

[History Reference]

Empress Miroku was actually the second wife of the Emperor. The first Empress Meiling had died so Miroku became the Empress. Empress Meiling was a cruel hearted lady jealous of the extreme beauty of Miroku. When she found out that Miroku bore the Emperor a child before her. She was angry beyond words so she ordered the child be killed.

Luckily a kind spy warned Miroku so when the child was born the baby was taken away. However, the person in charge of taking the baby away had never come back. The lost infant was assumed missing or dead from then on. One day Empress Miroku had a dream of a girl crying so whoever finds the lost princess would be rewarded greatly…

**A/N: **Pink Petals is set in my imagination and the story moves slowly. Romance will occur later and then the real plot sinks in. *Bows* Thank you for reading. 

Please have in mind your reviews encourages me to write on ^-^


	5. Ch 5: Kabuto's Plot

Naruto characters belong to Kishimoto Masashi… 

**A/N: ***Looks* at the list of side stories that still needs to be written: Kabuto the Thief, Lee's Bride? Dance Practice… and many more!

**Summary: **Sakura is Naruto's maid and is ordered to be his dancing partner. She meets an emotionless Sasuke on the streets of Konoha one day. Can she shine new light upon him? Will Sasuke learn to love again? 

~*~**Pink Petals**~*~

Chapter Five

[My dear child I hope you are living a happy life…]

Naruto walked up a little closer and exclaimed, "Eww what's that smell?"

Shika lifted his shirt to Naruto's face, "It's the crap that you shitted!"

"ARGH! Get it away from me," screamed Naruto and asked again, "Who the hell are you two?"

"I'm Sakura Nara and his Shikamaru Nara," explained Sakura.

"I can see that you're a maid but what are you doing here?" asked Naruto to Shika.

"I…" trailed Shika and was interrupted by another voice.

"Naruto, his with me," said Kakashi and added, "Could you guys please keep your voices down? I need to wake up early to work."

"Kakashi! You have no right to call me Naruto and why did you let him stay here?" asked Naruto with a displeased look at Shika's dirty cheap clothing. 

"He saved me from some bush robbers. Unlike you who sleep and eat all day," pointed Kakashi and added, "Until you learn to respect others I will continue to call you Naruto."

Naruto thought about his words for a while before something entirely different clicked. "Omg… Hatake. Do you know how to make French suits?" asked Naruto sincerely. 

Kakashi thought for a bit and answered, "Anko does."

The blond youth forgot about Shika and Sakura while hugging onto Kakashi's arm. "Please, please make me a French suit!" begged Naruto.

"Why?" asked Kakashi.

"So that I can go to a ball," said Naruto.

One-minute silence passed before Kakashi replied, "If you promise to behave."

"Yes sir, I'll come work at the warehouse tomorrow," said Naruto.

"Ah… OK. If that's all I'm going back to sleep," yawned Kakashi.

Naruto jumped around happily before remembering that he needed a partner. His baby blue eyes trailed back to the Nara brothers before resting on Sakura. "Perfect!" shouted Naruto as he pointed at Sakura, "You are going to be my partner!"

"Partner?" asked Sakura.

"Yes! From now on you will be my personal maid!" declared Naruto.

"Hold your horses you little blond man," said a half naked Shika as he approached Naruto. Shika was a big man and was at least half a head taller than Naruto. He poked Naruto's chest and continued, "I don't care who you are but I'm taking Sakura home!"

"I'll double her pay here," said Naruto.

"No!"

"Triple!"

"No!"

"Ah triple triple!" shouted Naruto.

"No…" trailed Shika before Sakura but in, "One x three = three. Three x three = nine silver nuggets brother! We can buy a quarter year's worth of rice with that…"

"Ah… Make that one gold nugget!" bargained Shika and added, "Also I get to live here!"

"Deal!"

"Deal!" repeated Shika.

"I think you should clean yourself up big brother…" suggested Sakura.

Ten ten came out the 'waste door' after eaves dropping on the conversation. "Sakura! I thought we were friends. You're going to leave me to clean up the shit by myself?" cried Tennie. 

"Omg… one more thing Master Uzamaki. Can my friend Ten ten here serve you too?" asked Sakura politely.

"Of course!"

"AND! Can you tell the bitches to clean the toilet buckets from now on?"

"Bitches?"

"Tennie watch your language!" warned Sakura and corrected her, "She means the former maids…"

"Sure!"

Naruto told the three maids to clean up the rest of the crap and announced that Sakura and Ten ten would be his new maids! However, rather than dismissing the girl's to sleep Naruto ordered them to massage him. Shikamaru was given a new set of clothing in which the material was more expensive than the ones he was wearing. He was taken to the guest's bathroom where he took a _very very _long shower! Afterwards he was led to the guest's room to retire for the night.

=*=

Meanwhile Kabuto has just finished stealing some valuables such as vases and jade statues. "Ha ha ha!" laughed Kabuto before the door opened. 

"Why are you laughing?" asked Shika.

"Who the hell are you?" asked Kabuto, "I always laugh to myself for no apparent reason."

"Oh, I'm Shikamaru Nara. I will be your roommate from now on. You are…?" replied Shika.

"I'm Kabuto Yakushi," answered Kabuto feeling nervous and thought, 'this man will make stealing harder…' Suddenly an idea popped up in his head as he laughed happily to himself again. 

Shikamaru shivered because he disliked his roommate. Kabuto's constant laughter made him feel uneasy and hard to sleep. Soon the weight on his eyelids took control and he fell asleep to a deep slumber. 

SNORE SNORE

"Gosh you snore loud," whispered Kabuto as he hid all the stolen goods to Shikamaru's bedside. The evil blue haired man adjusted his glasses while reflecting the moonlight and laughed for the last time that night. 'Ha, won't be seeing your sorry face tomorrow,' grinned Kabuto.

++

On the other side of the house Ten ten and Sakura was amazed at the size of Naruto's bedroom. The candle lit the king sized bed and revealed many pillows. "Hmm… my back aches, massage me," ordered Naruto as he laid on his soft bed.

"At your service," said Ten ten as she plunged at his back crunching his bones.

"OWL! That hurts, if you don't massage me properly I'll send you back to the toilets," said Naruto.

Ten ten grunted before massaging Naruto softly. Sakura was massaging Naruto's arm before he lifted his head slightly and whispered, "You have really pretty eyes…" For the first time in the night Sakura saw the beautiful sea blue eyes that Naruto possessed. She had not looked directly at him previously because he was her master. But now up front she was intrigued by the infinity of blue. _They reflected a sense of sadness hidden under the happy face… _

=*=

[Sasuke's POV]

I wondered around in the middle of the night until I found a tree. I plucked a big oval leaf before sitting under it. I liked the silent sincerity of the night but I hated sleeping. I blew on the leaf to create a soft tranquil melody. 

The music may sound nice but if you listened intently you'd here the sorrow it hided. I stopped blowing the leaf and closed my eyes. Soon my world was filled with the horrified screams of my parents being slaughtered by Itachi. I opened my eyes as anger embroiled deep inside me.

"Itachi," I whispered with my sharingan eyes, "I will kill you."

After a few hours of a dreamless sleep the sky greyed with light as dawn was approaching. I picked up my katana and headed off to Konoha City.

Next Chapter: The encounter- Sasuke finally meets Sakura! 

Please Review ^-^


	6. Ch 6: The Encounter

Naruto characters belong to Kishimoto Masashi… 

**A/N: **Hi Fruiteal-chan, Sasuke meeting Sakura is inevitable anyways. Readers, as I said there will be many minor stories until the real plot sinks in. You have read like a tiny portion of the story but lets hope it gets better. Oh yes, school's starting so I won't be updating as quickly =P

**Summary: **Sakura is Naruto's maid and is ordered to be his dancing partner. She meets an emotionless Sasuke on the streets of Konoha one day. Can she shine new light upon him? Will Sasuke learn to love again? 

~*~**Pink Petals**~*~

Chapter Six

[I hope to embrace you one day…]

"Master Uzamaki! Do you ever feel lonely?" asked Sakura.

"Me? Why do you think so? I'm happy," replied Naruto with a cheesy grin, "Honestly."

"Sakura, how can you ask such a question?" asked Ten.

"Your eyes tell me that you're sad," said Sakura directly to Naruto.

"Omg… Maybe a little. I wanted my cousin, Ino to like me but I think she likes someone else," answered Naruto and added in a softer voice, "I don't have much friends either. I did once but then I realised they were paid to be my friends. Even if they weren't paid they came near me for advantages."

Ten ten stopped massaging Naruto so he sat up to see why. She was crying with two streams of tears, "That's such a sad story! I feel your pain…" 

"Eh? You don't have to cry it's nothing," said Naruto.

"How did you meet your friends?" asked Sakura curiously.

"Let me think," replied Naruto and after a while he remembered. "I was walking with Iruka before I got rid of him. He's a really loyal servant but sometimes his a little boring. I took a stroll to the creek before I met this little group of boys…"

//Flashback- Naruto thirteen years old//

A curious Naruto in his teens wondered near a creek until he heard some other boys' voice. He saw two boys; one was fat while the other was skinny and tall. Suddenly a blob of black hair popped out between the boys. "I found one!" exclaimed Lee.

The third boy had a mushroom looking hairstyle with thick bushy eyebrows. Naruto covered his mouth to stop laughing but a small giggle escaped.

"Who's there?" asked Lee with his sensitive ears, "Come out!"

Naruto came out and boasted, "Naruto Uzamaki! What are you guys doing there?"

"Finding crickets to battle with," replied Choji.

"Have you caught one yet?" asked Naruto.

"I did!" announced Lee.

"Can I see?" asked Naruto.

Lee opened his cylinder bamboo holder to show Naruto the insect. "Aww… it's so cool! Can I have it?" asked Naruto.

"No."

"I'll buy it off you. How much do you want?"

"It's not for sale," said Lee with closed eyes in a serious expression.

"Don't you know who I am?" asked Naruto a little pissed that Lee brushed his offer so quickly. 'Many people would have jumped at that line!' thought Naruto.

"I don't care if you're God! I caught it so it's mine. If you want one so badly, you go get one," teased Lee.

Naruto took a glance at the dirty creek water before lifting his head high, "Fine!"

After a few minutes, Shino finally found one and shouted, "I got one!" Naruto frowned and thought, 'Dammit! Must beat the fat boy to finding one!'

"I found one! I found one!" screamed Choji in triumph but in a softer voice corrected himself, "Oh… it's a shell of a cricket."

'Ha, loser!' thought Naruto before his eyes spotted something dark with legs. "I found one! Gotcha!" The blond kid caught up to the gang and asked politely, "Do you know where I can put it?"

"Here, you can use my container," offered Choji.

Naruto smiled at him for his generosity and so the four of them became friends ever since…

//End of flashback//

"That's such a cool story! Can we be your friends too?" asked Ten ten happily. 

"Eh? Sure!" replied Naruto not wanting to hurt the girl's feelings, 'More friends why not?' He broke off the warm atmosphere by yawning, "It's getting really late… You girls' can retire back for the night."

"Good night Master Uzamaki," said Sakura and Ten ten.

"Omg… You can call me Naruto when no one's around," replied Naruto and waves his hand, "Sweet dreams Ten ten and (long stare) Sa-ku-ra."

=*=

The next morning when they woke up there was a huge uproar. "Many of the expensive vases and statues in the house has disappeared," announced Iruka to Grandma Uzamaki. Slowly Naruto came in the big hall and yawned, "What's going on?"

"It must be the farm girl's!" accused an old maid.

"If we did, we wouldn't still be here!" replied a farm girl.

"It might've been a robber," said Tsunade.

"It would've been hard for him to climb up the wall," stated Kakashi and added, "He would have made some noise."

Suddenly a distressed Kabuto came into the room and stammered, "Did any valuables get stolen? Last night a man suddenly came into my room and then I saw. I saw…"

"Oh you mean Shikamaru? I let him stay here," said Naruto.

"I saw these," said Kabuto lifting a small jade statue and added, "I was wondering what he was giggling about and then I saw this black bag hidden in his cupboard."

"Then it must be this Shikamaru who stole the goods!" exclaimed Ino nodding her head and added, "Where is he?"

"I think he's still sleeping…"answered Kabuto as he followed the angry mob to the guests' room. He hid an evil grin while they walked quickly to the building. Ino took up charge and marched into the room. The early sunlight hit Shika's face so he whimpered, "Huh?" and slowly sat up.

Ino had been searching the cupboard and indeed the stolen goods were there. She picked up some of the lightest evidence and yelled, "Wake up you thief!" She was about to come a little closer before she tripped on Shika's outer shirt on the floor. The statues fell out of her hands and smashed to the floor. 

Ino had fallen in such a way that she landed on Shika's lap. She lifted her head slowly and it was like as if time had stopped for Shika. He was mesmerised by the blonde girl's beauty and instantly fell in love with her. He was also drooling a bit as he felt Ino's breast brush past his thighs. 'Aww… I'm in heaven,' he thought. o

Shika came back to reality when Ino slapped his face and yelled "Wake up!"

"Owl! What are you guys doing here?" asked Shika staring at the crowd. 

"To arrest you," answered Ino.

"What have I done?" asked Shika.

"You stole these!" shouted Ino pointed at the vases in his cupboard. 

"I didn't steal those, that guy did!" exclaimed Shika pointing a finger at Kabuto. The blur haired man had a two second nervous expression before Ino but in, "He wouldn't do such a thing! It must be you country boy!"

Meanwhile, Sakura had been witnessing this helplessly. She wanted to tell them that her brother would never steal but Ten ten yanked her and shook her head. 

"I believe this man," interrupted Kakashi and looked directly at Kabuto's eyes, "Leave this theft for me to solve."

"Yea… I believe Shikamaru. He just wants to live here with his sister. Why would he jeopardise that chance for stealing?" asked Naruto and walked away, "When is breakfast ready? I don't want my Grandma to starve."

"You're the one who's hungry," said Grandma.

=*=

After breakfast, Naruto went to work at the warehouse with Kakashi. Ten ten and Sakura were left to clean up his room. On the other side of the house was Ino picking on her new maid. 

"Eww… Don't touch me with your shabby hands," cried Ino and added, "Who recommended you for me? Your face makes me feel sick." The spoilt blonde girl did not like the freckled face, small eyes and big lips maid. The upset maid just had her head down to listen to Ino's taunts.

"Ah well, I'm going for a stroll outside. You can stay here but don't you dare touch my things!" warned Ino.

Ino was going to go out to the streets alone but caught Sakura watering one of Naruto's plants. "You there!" yelled Ino as she took a good look at the pretty pink girl. 'Aww… she's so good looking!' thought Ino.

"Can you come with me to shop outside?" asked Ino softly.

"Ok but I've never been outside," replied Sakura.

Ino grabbed her hand and guided her outside and said, "There's always a first time!" During the same morning Kabuto was out with his rotten friends. They shoved him up a wall and demanded, "Where's the goods?" 

"I haven't got it yet," squirmed Kabuto.

"How do we know that you aren't lying? Maybe you don't want to share but remember we're in this together. We were the ones that helped you on the ship!" said a friend.

"Look some girl's from the Uzamaki house is walking out," said another friend.

"Let's kidnap them! We can make instant money that way," said another.

"YOU! Lure them to a place with less people," shouted the previous guy.

Ino and Sakura were happily looking at the wonders and cosmetics on the street. Then Kabuto popped out of nowhere with three nets. He asked, "Ino, would you like to go catch butterflies with me?"

"Eh? That's a cool idea!" exclaimed Ino letting go of Sakura while grabbing hold of Kabuto's arm. When they got nearer to the grassland three men popped out. One rough man yelled, "Good job Kabuto!"

"Huh? What's happening?" screamed Ino as two calloused hands grabbed her. Another pair of rough hands caught around Sakura's waist and she just froze their in horror.

"We're kidnapping you for a ransom," said a man and laughed, "Perhaps we should play with you pretty girl's first."

"No, don't go that far!" yelled Kabuto.

"Aw… Why should we listen to you?" roared a man as he sliced Ino's dress at the top. Her bra was exposed along with the fleshy whites of her breasts. "ARGH! Someone help me!" she screamed with horror and tears.

Suddenly Sasuke with his katana came out of nowhere. He fought off the two men holding onto Ino and injured them with his blade. He put his hand on Ino's shoulder to assure her it's all right. She opened her eyes slowly to gaze into the pools of navy blue. There in front of her was a cool handsome young lad!

Meanwhile Kabuto had escaped away hidden behind the bushes. The other kidnapper had Sakura in his arms with a knife pointing to her throat, "Don't come near me or I'll kill her."

Sakura bit her nervous shaking intruder to give Sasuke the few seconds needed for him to kick him aside. Sasuke lifted Sakura around the waist and flew upwards so that the guy couldn't stab her. The kidnapper ran away while Sasuke and Sakura gazed into each other's eyes. For the first time in many years Sasuke let out a softer expression as the pink long pink hair brushed past his shoulders. 

The beauty of the girl in his arms had touched his heart and softened it for the mere few seconds while twirling back to the ground. He let go of Sakura and began unbuttoning his shirt. Sakura was about to murmur, 'What are you doing?' However, Sasuke walked back to Ino and gave her his shirt. 

"Thank you for saving me!" exclaimed Ino happily, "What's your name?"

Sasuke grunted and replied, "Sasuke."

"That's such a cool name to suit such a handsome man like you," said Ino and added, "You don't seem to live around here. Would you like to live at my place?" 

Sasuke thought for a minute before taking a glance at Sakura and nodded.

**A/N: **Hope you guys don't mind Ino's character. She's supposed to be spoilt and outgoing but our Shika dear will tame her? Don't miss next chapter: Perverted Sasuke

Please Review ^-^


	7. Ch 7: Perverted Sasuke

Naruto characters belong to Kishimoto Masashi… 

**A/N: T-T ***Cries*** **I couldn't read some reviews because something happened to ff.net but I hope that you guys will give me another review instead. =P

**Summary: **Sakura is Naruto's maid and is ordered to be his dancing partner. She meets an emotionless Sasuke on the hills of Konoha one day. Can she shine new light upon him? Will Sasuke learn to love again?

~*~**Pink Petals**~*~

Chapter Seven

Naruto rarely worked in the Uzamaki Material Warehouse. Normally he would just stand around and watch the workers work. The female workers were hired to operate the wooden machine that threaded the material together. Professional embroiderers were to handle stitching beautiful designs, while the remaining workers were to dye the material. 

The material varied from cheap cloth to very expensive silk. Kakashi's task was to take orders and buy threads needed to create the material. Anko on the other hand was a professional clothing designer. Often she would design and make clothing suitable to the rich customers. 

If Naruto's parents were still alive they would be doing what Kakashi and Anko does. Naruto's parents had been killed but the murderer has never been found. They passed away when he was only three. The Uzamaki business was going downhill but luckily the Hatake's came to work for them. 

Kakashi decided to give Naruto a task instead of standing around all day. He ordered Naruto to deliver a stock of material logs to the next town. Naruto rode off in his horse carriage with two workers to deliver the material. On his way he saw a familiar blob of hair so he halted the horses. 

He told his workers to wait for him as he took off to search for Lee. He followed Lee to a near dried up creek before tapping on his shoulders. "YO!" shouted Naruto.

Lee jumped and yelled, "Naruto don't jump up on people!"

"Sorry, what are you doing here?" asked Naruto.

"To find a cricket. My old one died," cried Lee with two streams of fake tears.

"Oh! I haven't played with one for so long. Let's battle when we both find one!" declared Naruto.

"If we find one…" stated Lee before his sharp eyes spotted something with legs. "There, I got one!" he screamed before putting the insect in his holder.

It had taken another half an hour before Naruto finally found one and luckily Lee had a spare holder so he kept it there. "Let's go to my home to battle!" said Naruto as he strolled back home with Lee. 

When Naruto got home, he finally remembered that he had to deliver some material! He apologised to Lee, "Shit! I'm sorry Lee but I got to deliver some material. Do you mind waiting in my room until I come back?"

"Sure, I have all day," replied Lee before Naruto ran off.

Lee lay on Naruto's big soft bed and wished his bed was like Naruto's. He hugged the fluffy pillows and began rolling around. He was glad to be Naruto's friend because he was the only rich person he knew. He gazed at the ceiling before dozing off to sleep.

//Lee's Dream//

A dirty little kid with slick black hair and thick eyebrows knelt on the streets with a beggars bowl. His mother had sadly passed away but he had no money to give her a proper burial. He didn't even have money to buy food so he busked for money. However, no one cared about him except for a kind fat kid. 

Choji's dad had a small restaurant on the streets so the kind kid would often give a few buns or a bowl of noodles to Lee. One particular day, while Lee was busking for money he saw a man with thick eyebrows and shiny black hair like him. 

He came up to the man and asked politely, "You look like a handsome version of how I will look like when I grow older. Kind Sir can you please give me some money?"

Gai looked down at the mushroom hairstyle kid. He had thick eyebrows, round eyes and long eyelashes similar to his own features! "What's your name kid?" asked Gai.

"Rock Lee," smiled Lee innocently reaching his bowl out to him.

"Lee? That's strange my last name happen to be Lee as well. What is your mother's name?" asked Gai.

"Asuma," replied Lee.

'Asuma, Asuma, Asuma,' thought Gai before he remembered his girlfriend, "How old are you, Lee?"

"8," said Lee and waited for the man to give him money. 

"My son!" Gai cried with two streams of tears as he hugged onto Lee protectively. 

"Sir, you're choking me," cried Lee.

From that day onwards Lee had lived with Gai. Gai gave Lee a home, shelter and clothing. He was sad to hear the passing of Asuma but he was glad that he had a son. He swore that Lee must be his son because no one could look that much alike unless they were related!

//End of Lee's Dream//

"Hey Mr! What are you doing on my Master's bed?" yelled Ten ten loudly. She was going to put Naruto's clean clothing into a drawer before she caught Lee. Because Lee didn't wake, Ten ten stooped her head lower before shaking the intruder. 

"Hey-" shouted Ten but she was cut short because Lee had woken abruptly. The two of them were positioned in such a way that when Lee lifted his head; he kissed Ten ten directly on the lips. 

"ARGH!" screamed Ten ten as she realised what had just happened. She took a step back and decided to run away but Lee beat her to it. 

Lee wanted to explain but as he staggered out the bed the bed sheet had tangled him so he fell on top of Ten ten. Lee took a closer look at the beautiful girl as his head was directly on top of hers. Ten ten's eyes bulged as she felt the weight of the intruder on top of her. Suddenly, Lee couldn't stop himself and kissed Ten ten on the lips again!

"ARGH! Get off me!" screamed Ten ten as she shoved Lee off her. She ran out of the room with tears in her eyes and thought, "How dare that thick eyebrows kiss me twice!"

Lee decided to stay in the room and wait for Naruto. He could chase the girl but he decided to give her time to cool off. His hand automatically moved up to his lips as he smiled and blushed. He lay back on the bed and could not get the image of the girl out of his head. 

=*=

Ino, Sakura and Sasuke had finally reached the Uzamaki residence. Sasuke had not found a place to live so he took Ino's offer. He did not mind living anywhere with young women because his mission was to find the Princess. Though he disliked the idea of perving at a woman's back it was the only way to find the Princess.

For the pass few nights Sasuke had hated to perve at a woman's naked body but he had gotten used to it. He found it fascinating to study the different breasts sizes. His thoughts were distracted as he caught Sakura staring at him.

"Sasuke are you alright? Your face is all red," asked Sakura.

Sasuke blushed even more but managed to hold back his composure and nodded.

"Miss Yamanaka I better see what chores I have to do," said Sakura before Ino dismissed her.

Ino was glad that Sakura was gone so she could have Sasuke all to herself. Ino decided to get another set of clothing but was astounded to find Sasuke following her. He entered her room after her because he had forgotten to look at her back. While Ino was searching for a new set of clothing Sasuke pulled up his shirt (the one he lent Ino). 

'She's not the Princess,' thought Sasuke, as he could not find the tattoo. Ino had felt Sasuke's daring move so she began to unbutton his shirt. Suddenly she turned and placed her hands around his neck. Sasuke's eyes bulged as he saw Ino's enormous breasts held up by her bra. 

"Do you want me?" cooed Ino as she came closer to him.

Perhaps Sasuke's male hormones were taking over because he found it hard to move. In fact his hand was moving up towards Ino's breasts against his will. Out of nowhere Sakura popped back in, "Miss Yamanaka do you want me to stitch back your dress?" 

Sakura blushed and realised that she was distracting them, "I'm sorry, the door was open. Omg…"

Ino gave Sakura a frustrated frown and ordered, "You can throw it away." She stripped off her dress before chucking it to Sakura and in a low threatening voice she added, "Please get out…"

Sasuke disliked how Ino treated her maids and decided to follow after Sakura. "Sasuke, where are you going?" said Ino from behind.

"Away from you," said Sasuke bluntly and added, "You're not my type."

Sasuke's words repeated in Ino's mind but she was not offended. 'I will make you like me,' she thought and decided to approach Sasuke in a friendly way. "I hope we can be friends, Sasuke. Sakura, please lead Sasuke to Kiba," said Ino before dismissing them.

=*=

Kiba had led Sasuke to a different guest's room, as Shikamaru didn't want to sleep near anyone. For the whole day, Shika had gone out to help at the warehouse as Kakashi had kindly offered him a job there.

Sasuke found Naruto's house ordinary compared to Orochimaru's. His Master's house was at least twice as big as the Uzamaki's if not three. Orochimaru's house was big because many soldiers lived there to protect him. 

When it got dark but just before dinner, Sasuke heard some female voices. He realised the maids were going to take their daily bath so he put on his dark suit. Sakura was going to join them but Naruto popped out of nowhere and pulled her away from the crowd. 

Naruto guided Sakura to the front yard of his room before giving her a present. "I got you a present, please open it." The pink haired girl smiled because Naruto was the first person to give her a present besides her family. She held the paper wrapped gift and opened it slowly. She whispered, "A shoe?"

"Yea… I hope you like it," said Naruto before looking down and added, "Your shoes are kind of old and there's a hole in it."

Sakura looked down and indeed there was hole, she blushed in embarrassment. However, Lee soon walked out of Naruto's room and distracted them. Lee saw the gift in the pink haired maid's hand and the scary look on Naruto's face. 

"Oh sorry…" whimpered Lee and added, "I'll take a stroll. Bye."

Although Lee thought the pink haired girl was super pretty he could tell Naruto was interested in her. It was also bad to like a friend's girl so he cut off any thoughts on Sakura. Instead his thoughts directed back to the cute girl he had kissed.

He was walking before he saw a dark shadow so he decided to follow it. Meanwhile Sasuke had flown up to the top of the roof with his 'chi' power. Lee watched the figure from afar and realised the intruder was heading to the maid's bathhouse. He saw Sasuke opening a tile to perve at the naked girls.

'Let me teach the pervert a lesson!' thought Lee as he flew up to the top of the roof as well. He was glad that his father (Gai) had taught him a few kung fu moves. Lee attacked the figure from behind before Sasuke retaliated. Sasuke and Lee had a short fight before Lee got hit. Lee stumbled to the hole where Sasuke was peeping and suddenly the tiles broke and he plunged downwards.  

Sasuke was annoyed that someone had spotted him but he had seen enough. None of the girl's had a tattoo on their back so he decided to retire back to his room. Lee was not so lucky as he fell but fortunately he landed on top of Ten ten. 

Ten ten screamed as she felt someone fall on top of her. When her head arose from the water she froze to see Lee staring at her naked body and cried, "ARGH!" 

"No this isn't what you think it is," stated Lee before he tripped on a soap on the bath floor. He plunged towards Ten ten while his hands cupped onto her breasts.

Ten ten looked at where he placed his hands and then to Lee's round innocent eyes. "ARRGHHHH!" she screamed for the last time before running towards her towel. 

Note:

Chi- The airflow inside you.

Ki- The airflow outside you when you fight!

**A/N: ** I'd love to continue this story but I've been typing for 3 hours now… -_-  As I said there will be mini stories such as Lee's Bride. Next chapter might be: Lee's Bride- Ten ten becomes his personal maid! I'm sorry if you find the character's offensive. Also please have in mind they're 18 and over! Last word: WON BIN is so cute!

Please review ^-^


	8. Ch 8: Pink Petals

**A/N: **Twitches, I can't be bothered reading back on this story so I hope everything connects. I wrote down ideas on this piece of paper but I can't seem to find it. Anyways, I'll just type whatever that comes to mind! Also, you can't find crickets in a creek… XD

**== Chapter Eight ==**

Lee apologised quickly before rushing madly out of the maids' bathroom. He ran and ran until he reached Naruto's room. Naruto asked Lee why he was so nervous but he just shook his head while catching up his breath. The silence between them stopped once a chirp of a cricket interrupted them.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" asked Naruto with a grin.

"Yea, let's have a cricket combat!" suggested Lee.

"What do I get if I win?" asked Naruto.

"Something reasonable," replied Lee.

"Ok," agreed Naruto as he searched for a big bowl.

The two enthusiastic men chucked their newfound cricket into the bowl. The only difference between the insects was that Naruto's had a thin grey stripe across it. It was the nature of the crickets to fight over their territory. The two crickets began attacking one another before they stopped.

"They're not moving! Let me help them," cried Naruto as he jabbed Lee's cricket with a chopstick.

"Oi!" shouted Lee before he grabbed Naruto's chopstick and poked the striped cricket.

The two crickets began to fight again but Lee's cricket managed to tip Naruto's one to his back. Suddenly it began to attack it's front while it's legs struggled in the air. Soon Naruto's cricket stopped moving and died on it's back.

"ARGH! You must've poked my cricket too hard!" accused Naruto.

"I won fair and square, not like _you _didn't poke my cricket!" replied Lee and added, "Speaking of which, you owe me something."

"What do you want?" demanded Naruto.

"A maid…" trailed Lee.

"Which one? It better not be Sakura," grunted Naruto.

"I don't know her name. She has black hair tied in two little buns," described Lee.

"Tenten? Sure!" said Naruto and realised, "How long do you tend to keep her?"

"Hmm… Good question, I don't know," replied Lee and thought, "Two weeks!"

Suddenly Naruto had doubts but he had agreed already. Tenten had wanted to be his friend but now his giving her away because of a lost match. He had known Lee for a long time and was sure that he wouldn't do anything irrational. He stopped thinking about it because he was hungry.

"You said a maid Lee and I hope you treat her like one. If she gets hurt it will cost you our friendship," said Naruto seriously before softening his voice, "Let's go eat dinner, I'm starving!"

Lee gulped and wished he had asked for something else. He didn't know why he wanted Tenten so badly but now he would be risking their friendship. Lee liked Naruto and the two of them had grown up to be best friends. Lee followed behind Naruto as he made his way out of the room.

/

 (Actually I found the piece of paper but it's unreadable, I can only see squiggles.)

Sakura stared dreamily at her new soft pink shoes before testing it on her feet. They fitted! Just like Cinderella slipping on her glass slippers. She walked a few meters and realised the shoes were very comfortable. She was so occupied in admiring her shoes that she did not notice Sasuke behind her. He came up to tap Sakura lightly on the shoulders.

"Whoa!" cried Sakura before turning her head to face her intruder.

"What are you doing? Aren't you a maid?" asked Sasuke bluntly before a smirk appeared on his face. "I'm hungry, bring me some food."

Inner Sakura was thinking, 'Who do you think I am? Your maid?' However, she replied politely, "Ok, I'll get you some food."

"Bring me some wine while you're at it," replied Sasuke.

Sakura nodded her head before making her way to the kitchen. As she got inside, she watched the cooks prepare the food. She took a few dishes that were ready and a bowl of soup and rice. She remembered to take a bottle of wine but before she decided to return Sasuke his meal… She glimpsed a jar containing some chilly powder on the table. A cheeky smile popped on her face as her hand lifted the small jar. Sprinkle sprinkle sprinkle stir stir stir.

"I wonder if Sasuke likes chilly food or drinks… hmm…." Smiled Sakura.

Sakura gave a small chuckle before making her way back to Sasuke's room. She placed the tray of food gently on his table and watched him eat it. Sakura tried to keep her laughter as Sasuke slowly put the piece of meat in his mouth. He held a constipated look as he struggled to drink some soup. The same reaction occurred as the hot, chilly soup entered his mouth. He decided to test the wine and wasn't surprised to find the same chilly taste.

He glared at Sakura laughing happily to herself. Sakura watched Sasuke's navy blue eyes turn into a fiery red shade. She froze in time as Sasuke made his way up to her with his katana. His left hand pulled the silver blade out which reflected the moon. "Did you think that was funny?" he asked dangerously.

Sakura wanted to run but her legs won't listen to her. The tip of Sasuke's blade was pointing at Sakura's neck as he watched her shiver in horror. He found it fascinating to see her eyes grow bigger; suddenly he gave a small chuckle. "Now the look on your face is funny," remarked Sasuke as he redirected his blade to the ground.

"Are you sick or something? Do you think that sword is a toy?" screamed Sakura.

"No, I use it to kill people…" stated Sasuke before returning to his meal, "The food's really good, you should try some."

"No thanks. If there's nothing else, I'll have to go and serve my master," replied Sakura.

"Your master… Is he the guy with blonde hair?" asked Sasuke.

"Why do you care? Hmph! Good night!" shouted Sakura as she slammed the door from behind.

As Sasuke began to eat his meal again, he couldn't taste the chilliness. Everything tasted bitter and he wondered why. Could it be? No, a samurai will never permit himself to love someone…

/

Outside the dining room there was a small puddle of water, a maid had accidentally spilt some soup. Before the maid could clean it Shikamaru was walking happily with a tray of food. His mouth was slightly dribbling as he stared at his delicious meal so he did not notice the puddle. Meanwhile on the same pathway, Ino was making her way to the dining room. She saw Shikamaru advancing so she decided to make her way inside quickly. But in the same instant Shika slipped on the puddle and threw everything on his tray to Ino's face, hair and clothes.

"ARGH! You did that on purpose. You… you… you country boy!" shouted Ino.

"Ah, eh sorry. There was a puddle, I slipped," stuttered Shika as he reached for his hanky to wipe the wasted food on Ino. His hand moved towards her chest to wipe away the meat.

"What are you doing? Don't touch me!!" cried Ino as she tried to back herself away from him.

Shika moved a step forward as she moved back, "I'm really so- "

Before Shika could apologise for the second time he had slipped on a piece of bok choy. He managed to land on Ino and got himself dirty from the spilt food. "What are you two doing? Playing with food? I'm glad that you two are getting close together though," remarked Tsunade as she made her way in.

"Ah, get off me, you're heavy!" yelled Ino before two hands shoved Shika to the floor.

"Get off her," demanded Naruto and added, "Ino are you ok?"

"I'm fine," replied Ino as she made her way back up. She gave Shikamaru a disgusted look before returning to her room to change.

"I slipped, seriously!" replied Shika.

"That's ok, go get yourself cleaned. You can go get another tray of food," stated Naruto before he entered the dining room with Lee.

"Aww… I wonder what's for dinner? You have the best food ever!" said Lee.

"It's ok, personally I prefer eating in restaurants…" replied Naruto.

/

Sakura's tummy grumbled as she made her way to the kitchen. The male servants and maids had already finished eating and poured the scraps in the bin. Actually the three maids that weren't serving anyone had purposely disposed of all the food. They smiled in triumph as they watched Sakura making her way to the table.

"Sakura, nice to see you coming at last," said a maid and added, "Do want the chef to cook you something for your _lateness_?"

"Ah… no I'm fine," replied Sakura and added, "I'm thirsty, is there any soup left?"

"Nope, not a drop," answered another maid.

"Oh well, I'll just get a glass of water," stammered Sakura as she walked away from them.

Tenten came up to Sakura and apologised, "I tried to save some food for you but they wouldn't let me…"

"It's ok Tenten, I'll just starve but I won't die," assured Sakura.

After drinking some water Sakura was walking dizzily across the dining area. She hadn't eaten much the whole day and her body was collapsing. Naruto noticed Sakura tilting as she walked across the hallway. He rushed out just in time to catch her from falling. "Sakura, are you ok?" asked Naruto.

"I'm fine, I'm a little hungry…" whispered Sakura.

"You're not hungry! You're starving," exclaimed Naruto as he helped her to the dining table. "You can eat with us, we'll just get you another bowl and chopsticks."

The rest of the family members watched Naruto affectionately help Sakura and their thoughts… Kakashi and Anko: Naruto has finally found a girl he likes. Tsunade: Who is this maid? How dare she join us? Grandma Uzamaki: A maid will always be maid. Ino: Oh? Could she be Naruto's girlfriend? His dancing partner? But she's a maid…

Ino asked curiously, "Naruto, are you taking her to the ball?"

Naruto looked at her and then Sakura, back and forth before he replied, "No."

The words repeated in Sakura's mind again but she managed to reply, "Of course I'm not his partner! I'm just a simple maid… Aren't I, Naruto?" She gritted her teeth as she watched Naruto nod his head. (Change of plans: Hinata may be Naruto's new dancing partner!)

/

After dinner Sakura regained her energy and managed to excuse herself from Naruto. She asked him to give her the night off as she has yet to bath. She made her way back to her room to grab a new set of under clothing. Meanwhile, Sasuke wanted to bath because he had not cleaned himself for three days. There was no water in his guest room tub because he had just arrived. He did not want to ask the man next door nor did he want to ask anyone. He liked to keep to himself and he hated interacting with people.

He did not know why but an absurd idea to bath in the maids' bathroom came up to his mind. He decided, 'Why not? They have already bathed. No one will know…' That's what he thinks as he made his way to the building. Sakura had already taken all her clothes off as she walked slowly down the big tub… Her hair was pinned up so that it wouldn't get wet. Sasuke pushed opened the door to face a back with a pink petal tattoo.

"I found you!" said Sasuke absentmindedly.

"Huh?" replied Sakura as she turned her head to face Sasuke. Her naked body was exposed to his creepy eyes before her eyes widened like before. She was about to let out a scream but Sasuke moved like lightning as he clamped his hands on her mouth.

"Don't scream princess. I am here to take you back to the palace," whispered Sasuke as his eyes trailed downwards and added, "Hmm… nice."

Inside Sakura's head she was thinking, 'What in the world? He must be really losing it, princess and palace?!'

**Durian: **HEY! Like it? Awww….  


	9. Ch 9: The Face Behind the Mask

**A/N: **It's been a while, I'm glad that you liked this fic. Yes the Pink Petals idea is mine, don't steal it! Now we have finally settled with Sasuke finding the princess… but can he make Sakura follow him back to the palace? I got a great twist! It'll probably be revealed next chapter, stay tuned for now!

**Lead cast:**

Naruto

Sakura

Sasuke

Shikamaru

Ino

Lee

Tenten

Plus random odd bods and more to come!

**== Chapter Nine ==**

"If you promise not to scream I'll let you go," ordered Sasuke.

Sakura nodded her head so he unclamped his hand from her mouth. She looked angrily into his copper eyes and slapped his face with force. She stammered, "That's what you get for being a pervert!" Sasuke held a scary expression as he stared at Sakura in bewilderment; no one had ever dared to slap him…

He raised his hand and was about to slap Sakura but she threatened him, "You dare?" Sasuke responded in surprise, 'I dare…' he thought as he looked hungrily at her well developed body. He moved quickly towards her and forced his lips to hers, '… to kiss you!'

Sakura tried to push him away but he was too strong. He continued moving his mouth passionately around hers. He decided to explore her further as he slipped his tongue quickly inside her mouth. She had stopped whacking her arms at him as she felt the new tingling sensations. She responded to his kisses until they both were out of breath.

Sasuke did not know what had come over him but he knew the kiss must stop. 'A samurai can never fall in love, especially with a princess…' He moved back abruptly with his head turned sideways. His unsmiling face was plastered all over his face again as he beckoned, "Put your clothes back on, I'm taking you to the palace tomorrow."

Sakura exclaimed, "You must have gotten a mistake! I'm-"

Before she could finish Sasuke had already ran out of the bathroom. He walked towards the kitchen to find some sake to take back into his room. He drank a big bottle of sake before dozing into a sleepless dream.

Meanwhile, Sakura was all dressed and went back to sleep at the maids room. She stayed up for a while with her hands touching occasionally at her lips. Images of Sasuke's beautiful features began to mess around her head. She tried to think of something else but the mind would not relent. She fell in the mercy of a naughty dream.

#

Sakura was smiling and groaning seductively before a voice disturbed her. She felt hands shaking her and intruding into her dreams. Her eyes flickered and opened slowly to face two blue eyes. She was about to scream but Naruto covered her mouth, "It's me," he whispered.

Naruto grabbed Sakura's hand and pulled her away from the warm soft blankets. Sakura took a glance at the window and realized it was still dark. She said softly but harshly, "What do you want in the middle of the night?"

"You'll see," replied Naruto as he ordered her to put on some warm clothes.

They went out of the room with some fuss and the small amount of noise they made were enough to wake Sasuke. Naruto hurried Sakura to a ladder leading to the roof top. "You don't expect me to climb this thing, do you?" She asked.

"Of course, I'll be here supporting you, don't worry!" assured Naruto.

When Sakura finally managed to scramble on top of the ladder she was amazed at how high they were. Sasuke had gotten out of his room to follow the noise, when he had finally found the direction of it… He saw the blond man wrapping his arms around Sakura sitting on top of the roof.

He jumped up to where they were and shouted, "What do you think you're doing with my princess."

"She's not your princess, she's my princess! Go away you worthless street beggar," responded Naruto.

"Shut up you two, the sun's rising! Wow, I've never seen a sunrise before," exclaimed Sakura.

Naruto and Sasuke were too busy glaring at each other to notice the beauty of the sun. The contest continued for a little while before Sasuke husked, "I'll poke your eyes out if you dare stare at me for one more second." Naruto could tell he wasn't joking because his eyes turned into an eerie wheel shape.

"Sakura, let's go down to eat breakfast. This stranger on my premises can stay here," muttered Naruto as he crawled towards the ladder.

While Naruto was slowly making his way down the ladder, Sasuke lifted Sakura in his arms and jumped down to the floor. Sakura blushed as he looked at his face dreamily. Sasuke saw Sakura's weird expression and dropped her to the floor, "OWL" she screamed and added, "What was that for?"

"You looked at me weirdly," he replied.

"See I told you to go on the ladder," yelled Naruto half way down the ladder before he toppled and fell to the ground. "OWWwwwwwwwwl! Stupid ladder!"

"Let's go Sakura," ordered Sasuke as he grabbed her hand.

"HEY, where do you think you're taking my personal maid?" demanded Naruto.

"If the emperor finds out that you treated the princess like a maid he will chop your head off," threatened Sasuke.

"Are you really a princess, Sakura?" asked Naruto.

"No, I think Sasuke needs to find a doctor," replied Sakura.

Naruto nodded and took hold of Sakura's other hand, "Let's go eat breakfast and worry about the nutcase later…"

Sakura was feeling hungry but Sasuke insisted, "We leave n-" before his stomach growled. Naruto and Sakura both burst into laughter and Naruto commented, "Looks like iron face here is human after all." Normally Sasuke could last a day or two without food but he hadn't eaten much these few days. The chilly dinner last night also didn't fill him much…

Sasuke grumbled as he followed the two into the dining table. Naruto invited Sakura to eat breakfast with him and excused Sasuke for being there. It was too early for the other people to wake up except the chef and a few maids. The time was roughly 6:30 a.m. as they sat down and ordered the chef to bring a few bowls of ramen.

When the ramen came, Sasuke took one glance at it and muttered, "I don't like ramen."

"Don't eat it if you don't like it, I'll make sure _my chef_ don't cook you anything else!" exclaimed Naruto as he reached out for Sasuke's bowl.

"Grr…" growled Sasuke as he snatched it back and began to eat it slowly. He spitted a few pieces of naruto (spirally pieces) back into the bowl and asked, "Do you want it now?"

"He's disgusting, isn't here Sakura?" asked Naruto.

"Yes but I have to admit, I don't like ramen…" said Sakura.

"So you're on his side now?" whined Naruto.

She shook her head and continued eating; Sasuke plucked out all the naruto and began to eat. They ignored Naruto and commenced to eat silently. When Sasuke noticed Sakura's empty bowl he declared, "Let's go!"

"Hey are you serious?" asked Naruto and added, "If you aren't lying show us some proof!"

Sasuke took out a little silver medallion and explained, "Here this has the emperor's emblem on it."

"Che, you could probably take out any piece of metal and say whatever you like," remarked Naruto.

Kakashi stumbled into the room and yawned. If Anko had not twisted his ears, he would never have woken up. Though he was used to it, he feared that it'll come off one day… Kakashi saw the medal with his good eye from a distance and gasped.

"Can I take a closer look at it," he asked as Naruto passed it too him. He added, "Interesting, it's got the emperor's emblem, where did you get it from?"

"It's his," said Naruto and added, "He claims to have found a princess."

"Really and who is the princess?" asked Kakashi.

"She's right here," said Naruto and added, "Well he thinks so at least…"

Kakashi stared at Sakura for a while before Naruto clicked his fingers, "Earth speaking to Kakashi." On the other hand, Sasuke studied the silver haired man with a mask weirdly. 'He seems to know something…' he thought. Kakashi ignored them and ordered the chef to cook him something nice. Anko would be joining him shortly after she had fixed her hair.

#

Kakashi looked at his congee and began remembering horrid events. Images of a young silver haired man running with a baby in his arms conjured his mind. He was carrying none other but the princess herself. The enemies were very close by so he had no choice but to hide the baby in a basket to flow downstream. He was glad that the princess had not died…

When he had finished his half eaten congee he went to cleanse his face. He looked at his reflection before his hand went up to his left eye. He lifted the eye patch to reveal a hollow space. There was no eye… He took off his mask slowly before swinging the basin of water to the ground. A fat leech like scar remained on the right side of his face.

The empress' dirty guards had tortured him to hand over the baby, but he never did. And so he had paid the price. They dug one of his pretty eyes out and sprinkled salt onto a face cut. The result was very horrific but Kakashi had managed to live through it for all these years…

**Durian: **teary eyes the monsters… poor Kakashi. Sorry for the short chapter… but you'd be in for a surprise in the next chapter. Oh my God the twist, you can probably figure it out if you use your imagination! Do you want a preview? Well you ain't getting one…

Click the button below…


	10. Ch 10: The Assasin

**A/N: **Hey I'm back and I hope you'll enjoy this chapter. Let me make this clear that this fic is officially set in Japan with an emperor. I like clichés, too bad if you don't… XD

_This fanfiction is written by fans only so please don't flame or plagiarize…_

**New Cast**

Gaara

Temari

Kankuro

**== Chapter Ten ==**

In the midst of the night a young mahogany brown haired man sat quietly in a brothel drinking sake by himself. No matter how much he drank he was still sober as his tormented past kept him awake. His innocent mind was corrupted since the age of six; it was also his first time to have murdered someone. That person happened to be his own father.

Gaara despised his father ever since he saw the brutal ways he had treated his mother. His father was a pathetic alcoholic and gambler. He always took money off his mother and when she had no money to give him, he would give her a long beating. He hated hearing his mother scream in pain but what could he do? He had tried stopping his father once but he nearly got himself killed…

In contrast, his mother was a beautiful woman with flamboyant red hair and charming violet eyes. She was always kind to him and he would never forget the times she took him by the river to catch butterflies. His current life as an assassin has slowly eaten away his once present memories. Gaara waited patiently for his _target_ to leave this distasteful place.

An ugly prostitute came up to him but he gave her his death glare. As soon as she saw Gaara's frightful dark circled eyes she got the message and ran to the other side. He continued drinking his sake and drifting back into his little world. He hated the noise, the women and most of all, the atmosphere in the room. Why was everyone so happy? What was happiness? He had no clue…

Finally his target decided to leave a few hours later. He followed him outside where the street was very quiet. His target was a high ranked official with a hideous hair style. The well-built man had the sides of his scalp shaved leaving a ponytail in the middle. Gaara grabbed his short bladed katana and ran towards the man from the back. Before the official could turn his head around Gaara had already sliced it off.

He wrapped the head with a black cloth and made his way back to the manor. He held a blank expression and was devoid in any sentimental emotions. He did not care who he killed as long as it was ordered by his master, Orochimaru. He did not like nor hate his master, he gave him orders and he listened to them. Without Orochimaru Gaara would not know what to do with his life. After all, he had obeyed to Orochimaru ever since he was six.

#

When Gaara entered the big manor his brother and sister came to greet him. He nodded his head before ignoring them and making his way to his master. In a way he had blamed his siblings for the death of his precious mother. He recalled the two of them would hide behind a closet whenever his father started hitting his mother. His mother's body had endured too much beating and finally one day it gave up.

**Flash back**

That night after his father had finished beating the crap out of her, he ran out to gambol again. Gaara witnessed his mother crawling painfully on the floor and then the coughing started. He watched his mother cough specks of blood and finally a mouth full of it. He ran towards her dying body and helped lay her against the wall. She tried to smile but began to cough again. This time more blood oozed out…

She placed her clean hand, the one without blood to Gaara's face. She wiped the tear sliding down his face and whispered, "Don't cry, I will love you always…" Her eyes closed slowly before her hand fell from Gaara's cheek. In that instant he knew his mother was dead and nothing could bring her back to life. However, a small part of him still believed she was alive.

He wiped the blood off his mother's face and went to the closet and knocked the door. His sister came out slowly and asked, "Is it over? Has he gone?" He nodded his head and pointed to his mother. Temari asked again, "Why isn't she moving?" Gaara didn't answer but stared at her with unblinking eyes. Kankuro moved up to the body to check for a pulse and signs of breathing but there was none.

"Sh-she's dead," he said with shock in his voice.

Temari didn't believe him until she saw the blood in her mother's hand and the small speckles of blood on the ground. That night, Temari and Kankuro helped Gaara carry the body to their mother's favourite spot. It took them more than an hour but they managed to bring her to the hill where she watched the sun set.

They had no shovel so Gaara used his bare hands to dig a grave. The hard dirt didn't give way so the more he dug the more his fingers bled but he didn't care. No pain was greater than the loss of his precious mother. His siblings stood behind him and waited for him to finish digging.

When he had finished and carefully placed his mother inside the burial he poured dirt on top of her. His siblings helped him shovel the dirt in and he hated them for that. He wanted to bury his mother slowly but the dirt they shoveled had covered her face already. When they had finished and patted the dirt dry, Gaara picked up a hard stone to engrave his mother's name on a large rock where she used to sit and watch the sun set.

When he got home his father was fast asleep and unaware of what had happened. Gaara's mind was filled with hatred and revenge. He ran to the kitchen to grab a knife before making his way to his father. He slit his father's throat and watched his eyes bulge as he suffered from the pain. All Gaara felt was satisfaction…

**End of flashback**

When Orochimaru saw the head he gave Gaara some money before retuning to his room. Over the years Orochimaru had treated Sasuke much better than Gaara. The little red head would stand by a corner and watch the snake eyed man play with the other kid. He wanted to join and once he tried Orochimaru stopped playing with Sasuke instantly.

He was jealous of Sasuke and he envied the tasks Sasuke got than him. He didn't understand why Orochimaru had accepted him yet ignored him. He only knew that it was his eyes that captured Orochimaru's attention. The mere truth was that Gaara had reminded Orochimaru much of himself and that was why he took him in…

#

Lee woke up and stretched his arms before putting on his daily clothes. He began to do a few push ups with one hand on the floor until some noise outside distracted him. He went up to his window and pushed it open. As soon as he saw the two hair buns he recognized it was Tenten.

"Hey, good morning Tenten!" he called.

"Huh," said Tenten as she looked towards the direction of the voice, "YOU, how did you know my name and what are you doing here?"

"I'm Naruto's friend and incase you didn't know I'm your new master for the next two weeks," he replied.

"You what? My master, in your dreams!" exclaimed Tenten.

"Why don't you ask him?" Lee smirked.

"I will," grunted Tenten before picking up the bucket of clothing she dropped.

Lee opened the door to follow her and offered to carry the bucket. Tenten refused and asked, "What do you want? Don't bother me."

"I'm going to take you to see Naruto and I order you to put that down," demanded Lee as he grabbed for her hand.

"Ok ok, don't touch me. I can walk myself," stammered Tenten.

Lee let go and guided her to Naruto's room but on their way they bumped into him. Lee held a face filled of triumph and stated, "Naruto didn't you agree to offer Tenten to me as MY personal maid?"

Naruto looked at Tenten then to Lee, back and forth while twirling his fingers and finally muttered, "Ye-yes."

"Why?" Tenten demanded as she moved her eyes to Sakura hoping for moral support.

Naruto shrugged, Sakura was speechless and Sasuke didn't care. Although Sakura felt a little sorry for Tenten because the fuzzy eyebrow guy wasn't what you'd call handsome, she didn't know what to say. All of them continued their staring game until Lee broke the silence.

"Ok. I'm hungry so you're coming with me to eat outside!" declared Lee.

Tenten shifted her eyebrows as she thought about the _outside_, 'What was it like?' Suddenly she began to like the idea, maybe mushroom head here wasn't as bad as he seemed. Though she hated him for kissing and seeing her naked, her little brain began to plot of ways to pay him back.

She grinned and announced, "Ok fuzzy eyebrows, we're going outside!"

"Really, let's go my little buns," he replied.

"You call me that again and I'd bash you up!" roared Tenten.

"Go ahead…" Lee challenged before offering his hand again to lead the way. Tenten slapped his hand away and walked beside him.

#

After Lee and Tenten had left, Sasuke directed his delirious notion again, "Let's go princess."

"Look I think you need a doctor," replied Sakura still not believing him.

"But I have showed you the evidence and that silver haired man can prove I'm not lying," beckoned Sasuke.

"What makes you so sure I'm the princess?" she asked.

"The tattoo on your back…" whispered Sasuke but Naruto had managed to overhear.

"Back? How did you get to see Sakura's back? I want to see!" declared Naruto.

"I won't let you see," stated Sakura.

"But he got to see!" whined Naruto.

"That's because…" trailed Sakura.

"What?"

"Nothing..."

"Come on lets leave," demanded Sasuke.

"If she's going with you, I'm coming too!" announced Naruto and added, "It's time I have a little holiday. I need to protect _my Sakura _away from crazy people like you!"

"Who's crazy? You mean yourself, right," replied Sasuke.

"Listen you two, if we really are going I want to see my parents first," said Sakura.

"What parents? I'm taking you to see your parents!" stated Sasuke.

"Her real parents ya dummy!" chipped in Naruto.

After their brief discussion, the three of them began to pack some clothes and money. Naruto left Iruka a message that he's going on a holiday with Sakura and to take care of Grandma Uzamaki. He also ordered Iruka to tell Ino that he's not going to go to the ball. All this time he realized that he didn't like Ino in that way at all. She was only a childhood crush. Last night when he lied about taking Sakura to be his partner he felt so bad that he couldn't sleep…

#

After Lee and Tenten had eaten some congee and noodles for breakfast they began to stroll around the market. Tenten stopped abruptly when her eyes landed on a _green suit… _'That's the weirdest suit I've ever seen,' she thought.

"Don't you think that suit's pretty?" she cooed.

Lee took one glance at it and smiled happily, "AH! I finally found one that looks exactly the same as my Dads!"

"…" Tenten.

**D U R I A N**

Firstly, I'd like to thank all those who have reviewed and especially: Kurama1fangrl-Eiri, Mourning Fox, Ebensutaru, digital-tiffany, Lumella, oOoshortayoOo, yuki san1 in the last chapter. Please give me some feed back, what did you think of Gaara? Which pairings do you prefer e.g. Saku/Gaa? Naru/Saku? One thing is definite Lee/Ten, cute pairing! I prefer not to give too much of the story away but one thing: 'Do you really think Orochimaru will be good in this story?' I don't think so…

Your comments do matter and will contribute to the story. They also stimulate my motivation to update. I suppose I should study more rather than putting my time into this but I enjoy writing as much as I hope you enjoy reading. I think I update quite often, well at least I do update… You know, I also have a part time job and think of me as Naru (Love Hina) who is studying for her university entrance!  

Please give me some Pocky or durians, I love them both… XD


	11. Ch 11: The Tight Green Suit

Special thanks to: **Shadow Dog, demoneyes14, koori no tenshi, oOoshortayoOo, Mourning Fox, Lady, andy bp, Kurama1fangrl-Eiri, Devil's Cry, Dragon89, Miszy-Anne** and all those who reads this story… XD

**New Members**

(The naughty pair)

Konohamaru and Inari

Haku and Zabuza

**Chapter Eleven**

"HEY! Do I look good or what?" asked Lee dressed in his extra tight green suit.

Tenten shivered and thought, 'You're going to be the next laughing stock if you wear that thing out.' However, she decided Lee deserved to be laughed at so she nodded her head and answered, "You look good."

Lee felt really happy to hear that so he bought the suit instantly. He liked it so much that he wore it out to the street. He tagged Tenten out of the store to continue shopping around the market place.

After a while, Lee noticed the numerous eyes staring at him so he wondered if there was something wrong about him. He was unaware of a group of kids eyeing mischievously at his bum and did not react in time when one of them took out their flinger and flung a stone to it.

"OWL!" cried Lee.

"Hey it bounces," laughed Konohamaru.

"Look there's a hole, ewwww…" stated Inari.

Tenten looked at the bit of flesh and then at the kids and back to Lees' face before she began to giggle hysterically. Lees' face turned bright pink and he wanted to _kill _the brats as he began to chase after them. "Why you… I'm going to rip little holes in your pants if I get my hands on you."

"Catch us if you can _thick eyebrows_!" shouted Kono.

Tenten remembered her childhood games as she watched Lee go after the kids. A part of her wanted to join him as she recalled how she used to play tips with Sakura and Shikamaru. Her eyes followed the direction of the green suit before she began to run after it.

The two kids split to opposite directions so Lee chose to follow one of them. The bowl head looked scary and dangerous because he was really angry. After a few more seconds Lee had managed to corner Inari. As he made his way to the kid he began to crack his knuckles.

"I've got you now… How should I punish you?" Lee smirked.

Konohamaru knew the streets well and realized the direction Inari had headed was to a dead end. He decided to go back to help his friend even though the green suit man was twice his height. On his way, he recognized the girl with the buns.

"Hey! I'm really sorry for what I did but can you stop your boyfriend from hurting my friend!?" asked Kono.

"He is NOT my boyfriend! I have better taste than that," replied Tenten.

"Whatever just save him!" demanded Kono as he led Tenten to the alley. When Kono and Tenten arrived they saw Lee smacking the poor boy's bum.

"Say sorry or I'll smack you harder!" shouted Lee.

"No, I hate you!" replied Inari.

"Oh yeh…" trailed Lee before Tenten interrupted him, "What are you doing? You monster! How can you hit an innocent kid like that?"

Lee let go of the kid instantly and said softly, "He started it first…"

Inari ran away with Kono without apologizing and left Lee to deal with Tenten. Lee sat down on the ground and refused to argue with Tenten. He sat there for a few minutes before Tenten extended her hand to him. She gave him a reassured smile and said, "You're not a monster."

Lee grabbed her hand and jumped up to hug her and whispered, "Thank you." In the same moment Tenten flung him off her and stated firmly, "But it doesn't mean you can use violence to solve things. Don't ever hit a kid again, ok?"

"I promise! Let's go," announced Lee.

( # ) ( # )

Gaara gave a portion of his money to his pathetic siblings and decided to take a day off to his favourite place. He walked unaccompanied with his katana by his side under the clear blue sky.

He walked over a few hills until he finally got to a dense forest. He entered it and listened for the sound of a river flowing. When he found the crystalline river, he followed it until it reached a waterfall.

Gaara loved the sound of the water rushing down from the rocks and the peaceful chirps of the birds. He remembered his mother had taken him to this very spot once when he was a kid. She pointed her finger to the rainbow that was refracted by the water and asked, "Isn't it beautiful?"

As he stood there, a small flower from a near by blossoming tree fell on his head. He removed the flower from his red hair and looked at its soft white petals. He crushed it in his hand as a stab of pain built in his heart. 'What is the point of beauty if i have nobody to share it with?' thought Gaara and wondered if he'd die a lonely man…

( # ) ( # )

A fully packed Naruto with two lightly packed Sakura and Sasuke walked out of the Uzamaki gates. Sakura and Sasuke both had a small material bag while Naruto carried this big bag made out of straw. In Naruto's bag, he bought a lot of nuggets and a few set of clothes. On the other hand, Sakura had brought plenty of bread and her old set of country clothing and Sasuke carried his set of black clothing.

Sasuke headed to the main street before Naruto yelled, "Where are you going? My carriage is this way!"

"Can't you walk for a change?" asked Sasuke.

"No, walking is for morons like you," replied Naruto and added, "How do you want to get home Sakura?"

"Hmm… I don't mind either but I have this urge to see my parents; I really miss them," said Sakura.

"See Sakura wants to take the carriage! However, you can walk or run whatever, we'll just meet you there!" boasted Naruto.

Sasuke ignored Naruto and hopped into the carriage, a servant sat outside to control the two horses. Naruto helped Sakura onto the carriage before getting on himself. Afterwards, he ordered his servant to head for the country. They had been riding for a couple of hours before Naruto whined that he was hungry.

"I'm hungry! Let's stop for some food!" exclaimed Naruto.

"I'm not hungry," stated Sasuke.

"Who care's about you, Sakura might be hungry," expressed Naruto.

"I'm fine, do you want some bread? I have some bread…" trailed Sakura.

"There's a tea house near by, Master Uzamaki," but in the servant.

"Good we're stopping there!" declared Naruto.

After they had all ordered some food and drank some tea they hopped back into the carriage. It took them another couple of hours to reach the dirt road that led up to Sakura's house. The servant halted the carriage right outside of the Nara residence and out jumped Naruto.

"EH… Is this your house Sakura?" asked Naruto staring at a wooden structure the size of his stable for the horse and carriage.

"Yes, is there something wrong with it? I know its small compared to…" trailed Sakura.

"No! It looks great!" Naruto lied.

"It's small, old and it looks like it's on the verge of collapsing. You shouldn't live in places like this, princess," said Sasuke bluntly.

Sakura was speechless and deeply offended from how Sasuke had described her house. She had lived their her entire life and all Sasuke could comment on was the shabbiness of it. She gave a short shrug and entered the house without knocking.

"Hello? Mother! Father! I'm home," announced Sakura but no one answered.

"Maybe they're out on the fields," suggested Naruto.

"The fields have been dried and my mother wouldn't go outside to collect water!" yelled Sakura.

"Hey no need to shout!" replied Naruto.

They looked all around the house and found no trace of the Nara couple. Sasuke inspected around and studied a brown stain on the floor, "_Dry blood_…" he pointed out. Sakura and Naruto stared dumbly at Sasuke not sure on what to think but the worst came into their minds.

( # ) ( # )

When Ino awoke in the morning she overheard Iruka telling Grandma Uzamaki that Naruto has gone on a holiday. She demanded to know when he would be coming back but Iruka passed on the message that Naruto won't be going to the ball with her.

Naruto was the only person she knew in Konoha after so many years of living in France. After breakfast she decided to wonder the streets to find a decent gentle-man. She didn't want to walk alone but she also disliked the idea of taking her maid. She had changed her fat lips maid to one that has hair on top of her lips… O.o

She spent a few hours looking for a good looking man but found none. She saw a few bold men, some old men, hairy and muscly men, and fat men, shrivelled and bony men. Even Naruto was better looking then them and they were all incomparable to Sasuke. She did see a few good looking guys but you could tell they were younger than her.

As she continued to stroll the streets a man carrying a stack of materials logs bumped into her. The material few into the sky and landed in all directions to the ground. Ino looked up to see Shikamaru standing directly in front of her.

"You again!" she shouted.

"Yes it's me is there a problem?" asked Shika picking up his logs of material.

Ino was going to say another witty comment but her eyes focused on Shika's tan and well built body. He wasn't fat or hairy or skinny, he was just perfect. He may have a pineapple hairstyle but his face wasn't uncomfortable to look at. Before she could have another look at Shika, he had ran away to deliver the material.

The curly blonde haired girl dressed in her French dress turned her head to stare at Shika's back. She was so focused on his back that she did not realise the bok choy on the floor. The next moment she had slipped and fell backwards to the dirty vegetable market floor. In the same instant a man with long black hair poured out a bucket of _dirty water_.

The water drenched Ino's hair and top half of her dress. A stench empowered her senses as she realised it was _dirty fish_ water. She looked up to see who had poured the scum on her but before that a hand had extended to help her up.

"Miss are you ok?" said a medium toned voice.

Ino saw a beautiful girl with rich silky black hair. She wanted to run her hands through it but managed to respond, "I'm fine but this stench… uh! My dress is ruined."

"I'm sure it can be washed out," replied Haku and added, "I can help you wash it."

"No thanks!" stammered Ino and as she studied the girl a second time she realised she was dressed in male clothing. Suddenly a loud voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Why are you slacking off? Stop flirting with big breasted girls!" shouted Zabuza the fish store owner.

"Yes, Mr Zabuza," replied Haku and added, "I'm sorry…?"

"It's Ino Yamanaka, omg… What does he mean by flirting, aren't you a girl?" asked Ino.

"No, I'm a man. Don't I look like one?" asked Haku.

"…" Ino.

**DURIAN**

I usually update once a week but you may see quicker updates because it's 'Holidays' now. This is going to be a long fic even though it's moving ever so slowly. I want to include most of the characters so who do you think will come next?


	12. Ch 12: A Dying Mother

** Chapter Twelve **

"Hey, here's your clothing. I think you should change out of that. It doesn't suit you," said Tenten.

"Oh… I thought you said… never mind," replied Lee as he checked out Tenten from head to toe and added, "I think you need some new clothing and accessories."

Tenten looked down at her maid's clothing and answered, "I don't see anything wrong…"

Lee placed a finger on her lips and whispered, "It's an order. Don't worry about the cost."

For a moment, Tenten felt a shudder as Lee transformed into a gentleman. He wasn't trying to take advantage of her but offered to shower her with gifts. If only he wasn't so ugly… but then again do looks really matter?

Lee was happy to see that Tenten wasn't frowning at him like before. He thought she was the most gorgeous looking girl he had ever met. He knew he felt something for her since the first time he laid eyes on her. He wouldn't mind spending an eternity with her… but will she ever accept him?

Lee was unaware of the words slipping out of his throat, "You are the prettiest girl I have ever met… just like a lotus flower."

Tenten blushed like a pink lotus from hearing his words. Deep down her heart was beating very quickly and she was flattered to hear Lee's compliment. However, another part of her detested Lee so she joked her way out of it, "Of course I'm pretty! I don't need a geek like you to tell me that…"

As soon as the words got out she desperately wanted to take them back as she watched Lee's serious face turn into a frown. He looked down to the ground and whispered, "Yeah… I'm a geek. I'm an ugly…" Before he could finish, two arms wrapped around him and assured him, "I'm sorry for insulting you…"

Lee brightened up and squeezed his lips to an O shape. He asked, "Can I kiss you then?"

"Argh!" screamed Tenten as the fat lips came nearer. To top it off Lee hasn't shaved so there was a thin moustache line.

"Just joking. We're even!" stated Lee as he offered his hand to her for the hundredth time. He laughed and winked, "I'm going to buy all the things you have ever wanted!"

Tenten felt pleased but walked off ahead as Lee began to change out of the green suit. The street she entered was filled with many exotic foods and the smell made her want to dribble. She saw a variety of buns and rice cakes and sweets and fried food. She wanted to try all of them and demanded, "You can buy me one of everything on this street for lunch!"

"Sure!" replied Lee as he took a glance at the different types of food. Luckily his father had given him his work pay two days ago.

After three buns, some rice cakes and fried tofu, squid and fish Tenten couldn't eat anymore. However, she wanted to taste everything so Lee carried all the rice cakes and sweets in a piece of cloth. Tenten was so occupied in eating she didn't notice that Lee hadn't eaten anything. She picked up a lotus bun, paid for it and offered it to Lee, "Here, eat this. My shout! I'll carry the cloth bag..."

Lee never felt happier as he took the bun from her hand and replied, "It's my favourite bun. Thank you."

Unfortunately, his voice was drowned out by Tenten's amazement, "Wow… all these rice cakes looks so nice. Hahahaha… which one should I eat? Hmm. If only I wasn't so full! Sorry. Did you say something?"

"I said this is my…" trailed Lee as he watched Tenten run to the next street where they sold animals. She ran to a big wooden bucket holding many goldfishes and gasped.

"Aww… they're so pretty!" complimented Tenten.

"Hello, pretty Miss. Would you like to buy one?" asked the goldfish owner.

"Yes… Lee come and look at the black one with big eyes. I think it looks like you," laughed Tenten.

Lee looked at the ugly black fish with two bulging eyes and responded, "I guess… The orange one that's always picking on the black one can be you!"

"It's also the prettiest one!" boasted Tenten and added, "How much? I want them both!"

"Omg… five bronze pellet for both of them and fifteen if you want this porcelain bowl with it," offered the owner and continued, " Twenty bronze pellet altogether if you want this small packet of fish food."

Tenten looked at Lee with her beady eyes and waited for him to pay. As he took out his black cloth bag he realised his money has decreased by more than half. He gave the pellets to the owner slowly but the man grabbed the money enthusiastically and thanked him. Lee sighed and thought, 'As long as she's happy, I'll do _anything _for her.'

Tenten looked sideways with her angelic turquoise eyes and yawned, "I'm tired let's go to your place. We can shop some other day!"

As they headed to Gai's Sake Restaurant they didn't realise a man in a green suit was eyeing them suspiciously. Gai's heart was overwhelmed to see his son finally dating a girl. Two streams of fake tears rolled down his eyes as he thought of his son's marriage.

"I'm going to have grandchildren!" laughed Gai to himself.

( # ) # ( # )

"I AM a man! Do you want me to prove it to you?" asked Haku.

"No that's alright. I think I should go home," replied Ino.

"Will I ever see you again?"

"Probably…"

"Can I take you to dinner one day?"

"No."

"Lunch then?"

"No, I don't think you can aff- never mind. If you can look manlier, I'll think about it…" trailed Ino and added, "Bye?"

"It's Haku!" he answered and continued, "I'll see you around then." =P

She walked off trying to forget about the stench but it was too overpowering. She thought, 'As if he can look manlier? Ah! I stink like him!' She was heading to her front gate before a roar of laughter greeted her.

"Looks like Miss Perfect is drenched and what's that stench? I think it's coming from you!" smirked Shika and added, "Be careful of the flies."

"You! This was all your fault!" screamed Ino.

"Right. First you accuse me of stealing and now you say _I made _you stink?" replied Shika.

"You did steal! I hate you, grr…" said Ino before she stormed inside to her room.

"Yeh? I don't like you either!" Shika shouted from behind her and cursed, "I wish something really bad happens to you…" (A/N: Wishes work backwards…)

( # ) # ( # )

"I think there's a blood stain here…" pointed Sasuke.

Sakura dropped to her knees and her pink hair fanned across the floor. Small drops of tears began to fall to the cement ground. Sasuke and Naruto watched dumbfounded, they were unsure on how to soothe her. Naruto knelt next to her and placed a hand to her shoulder to support her.

"Don't touch me," yelled Sakura and instantly Naruto removed his hand. She crawled into a ball and began sobbing to herself. She prayed that her parents were still alive and she would do anything to see them again.

Sasuke stood a meter away from them before he sensed a noise coming from outside. He stretched his eyes to focus out the door and saw a man with a pineapple hairstyle pushing a cartwheel. He expected the worst when he saw a motionless body on the cart.

"Someone's coming," said Sasuke.

Sakura looked up to see her father and ran with joy to greet him. Mr Nara was shocked to see his daughter running towards him. He tapped his wife on the shoulder and whispered, "Sakura's home…"

Mrs Nara sat up very slowly and this small motion had wasted a lot of her energy. She stretched out her arms to embrace her beautiful daughter. She had thought that she would never get the chance to see her. Streams of tears from pure joy rolled down her eyes. She hugged her daughter so tightly that Sakura felt like she was suffocating.

Inside the house, Naruto and Sasuke were grateful that Sakura was reunited with her family. However, both of them were slightly envious because they had no parents. Sakura walked slowly beside her mother as Mr Nara pushed the cart towards the stone house.

When they were inside four horrified pairs of eyes watched Mrs Nara coughing blood. Mr Nara knelt on the floor to support his wife in a seated position so the blood wouldn't conjure in her throat. He held an immensely worried expression and cried out a cluster of words, "Don't leave me, I cannot live without you."

All along Mrs Nara just smiled while Mr Nara began to wipe the streaks of blood on her chin. Sakura was confused and wondered what was wrong with her mother. However, she did sense that her mother was dying and that pierced her heart deeply as tears flooded her eyes. She screamed when her mother fell out of conscious.

Mr Nara searched for a pulse and was relieved to find one. He assured everyone, "She has fainted…"

"Is she sick?" asked Naruto softly.

"She has been coughing. I took her to see the doctor and he said she didn't have much time left…" replied Mr Nara.

"I think you should take her to see another doctor. If it's money…" trailed Naruto.

Suddenly Sakura clung onto his arm and screamed, "Please save her. There must be a doctor who can save her! Please, I'll do anything…" She began to cry on his shoulder and he wrapped his arm around her shoulder again.

"Mr Nara is it? There's still hope but firstly I think you should take her to my place. I think Shikamaru has the right to be informed about…" stated Naruto firmly.

"Yes… yes. You are right! Let's move immediately!" exclaimed Mr Nara.

"My carriage is outside," said Naruto and he lifted Sakura's chin to face him. He wiped away her tears and whispered, "We will save her, don't worry…"

Sasuke stared furiously at them and his fist clenched when Sakura wrapped her arms around Naruto. 'I should be the one holding her…' thought Sasuke. He became more calm when Sakura shifted away from Naruto but the jealousy remained as Naruto took her hand and instructed her outside.

( # ) # ( # )

Mr Nara carried his wife's body gently up the carriage with the help of Naruto's servant. He laid her on one side of the soft chairs before sitting in a corner so her head was placed over his thighs. Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke came in to sit on the opposite side. Naruto gave an order to the servant to head home.

A few hours later…

The sky has turned into a mass of orangey yellow and many homes were preparing dinner. During this particular time, Shikamaru was bathing happily and unaware of the misfortune that lay ahead for him. When he had finished his warm bath he decided to go to the kitchen to get some food.

On the other side of the house was Ino, she had recently chucked her French dress because of the stench it carried. She decided to wear some authentic Japanese clothing and have her hair straightened. She told her maid to tie her hair in a simple style and had liked what she saw in the mirror.

Ino opened her door slowly to head for the dining area while Shika was passing by in the same minute. She walked out slowly and Shika froze to stare at her passive beauty. She looked like a beautiful painting hanged on walls and was different to the loud and opened character she normally was.

Her stunning emerald eyes caught sight of Shika and politely addressed, "I believe we have not been introduced, I'm Ino Yamanaka."

"I'm Shikamaru Nara, you look really beautiful tonight," he replied and was taken aback from her quick change of personality.

"Are you implying that I was ugly before?" she asked.

"No! You look great. Listen I'm sorry about this afternoon. I hope that we can be friends," he stated.

Ino looked at him from head to toe and wondered if she should accept. She spoke, "Eh, I'd have to think about that… I'm going to head up for dinner so I'll see you around, bye."

"Bye," smiled Shika waving his hands and continued to head for the kitchen.

When Shika had walked a reasonable distance away from her she laughed, "Did you see his face? I'll teach him to never mess around with me." The maid gave her a half smile and was unsure of what to say.

Meanwhile, the carriage has finally arrived at the Uzamaki residence as it halted in the stable. During the trip Naruto had explained himself and his family trade. Sakura had told her father about what she thought of the place. Sasuke was referred to as a friend because Sakura didn't want to upset or anger her father. All along the trip, Mrs Nara slept soundlessly like the dead…

"We're here!" declared Naruto as he helped Mr Nara carry his wife out of the carriage. Naruto ordered his servant to find Shikamaru immediately.

When they had settled Mrs Nara on a nice comfortable bed, Shikamaru arrived outside the room. He was not sure why Naruto had asked for him but when he saw a glimpse of his father. His heart nearly popped out from the joy of seeing him again. Shika was confused because his father responded with a sad grim face.

"Your mother, she…" trailed Mr Nara as he pointed to the room.

Shikamaru pushed opened the door with fear that he might see a dead body. He was slightly relieved to see his mother sitting lumpishly against the wall with Sakura on her bedside. He studied her ghostly pale completion and her dry cracked lips. She had lost weight dramatically since the last time he had seen her and her hair was filled with many streaks of white.

She reached out a hand and whispered ever so softly, "Shikamaru."

**Next time: **Mrs Nara is dying but Sasuke insists she tell the truth about Sakura's identity. Naruto finds out more about his parents and he meets a stranger who calls him, "Yondaime, Yondaime you're alive!" Orochimaru gets impatient and sends Gaara to look for Sasuke…

**DURIAN**

I don't think there ever really are original stories; I mean where did the idea come from in the first place? That's why I don't mind cliché ideas as long as there's a good twist to it. I hope you liked my story so far even though it takes me yonks to update. You will witness Sakura being dressed elaborately walking up the palace steps soon…

_Thanks to:_ Maya, Nikki, demoneyes14, Dragon's shadow, Anfu, Takeshi, Shadow Dog, Mourning Fox, Reika, Devil's Cry, digital-tiff and Mizzy Anne.

Please Review…


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